


Outcast

by theinsandoutsofcastiel



Series: Outcast [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, NSFW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2018-08-17 13:47:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8146292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theinsandoutsofcastiel/pseuds/theinsandoutsofcastiel
Summary: I know you write mostly Supernatural stuff, but I saw you wrote a Sherlock fic and an Originals fic so I was wondering if you’d be willing to write something about the Walking Dead too. If not, just ignore this. I’m a huge Daryl fan so I was wondering if you could write one where Daryl distances himself from the group and the reader, pushes people away. She likes Daryl, but hasn’t really spoken to him. Then maybe they go on a hunt together or go looking for Sophia. Everything is fine until they run into a group of walkers and have to save each other. This leads to Daryl being defensive about his feelings and eventually sex. I hope this makes sense, thank you! Also can the reader use a bow and arrows? Oh and one more thing, virgin!Daryl please!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a Daryl fic, I hope you guys like it!

Warnings: Killing walkers, language, Daryl has low self esteem, mention of Daryl’s scars, smut

Fic:

Daryl was an outcast of his own making. He kept himself at a distance from the rest of the group, including you. You wanted so badly to show him that he didn’t have to separate himself the way he did. He had so much to offer the group, but he didn’t seem to see that.

Sitting by the RV, you glance now and again towards the camp where Daryl had exiled himself. From time to time, you thought about going to talk to him, but he never really talked to you. You’d always assumed he didn’t like you, but that didn’t stop you from wanting to make an effort. There were only so many people left on Earth, so you wanted to be on good terms with as many of them as possible.

“You like him, don’t you?” Carol asks, drawing you out of your thoughts. You could hear the sadness in her voice and her eyes were red as if she’d been crying again. She was probably trying to talk about something other than her missing daughter just to take her mind off things.

“Me? Like Daryl?” you ask, “No, I barely even know him. I - I just feel bad for the guy ya know? He’s supposed to be part of our group, but he doesn’t even feel like he’s one of us.” When you said you didn’t like him, it was a flat out lie, but Carol didn’t need to know that.

“He’s a good man,” Carol says as she sits on the ground beside you, “If he wasn’t helping me look for Sophia, I don’t know what I’d do. I’m losing my mind, but if it weren’t for him, it would be much worse.”

“He deserves better than being by himself,” you mutter almost to yourself.

“Go talk to him,” carol encourages.

“What?” you question, shocked, “He doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“I think you’d be surprised,” she says. You shake your head, pushing the thought from your mind.

“Y/N, Carol,” Laurie calls, “Dinner.” Standing from the ground, you sling your quiver of arrows over your shoulder and grab your bow. You join the rest of the group and begin assembling a plate for yourself.

“Go have dinner with him,” Carol encourages as she hands you her plate.

“What about you?” you ask.

“There’s plenty of food here,” she says, “Go on, take it.” Reluctantly, you take the plate before heading over to Daryl, the rest of the group giving you odd looks as you leave.

“Hey, Daryl,” you say as you walk up to his camp.

“What do ya want?” he asks guardedly. He keeps his eyes on his work as he skins a squirrel he caught.

“I brought you some dinner,” you tell him, awkwardly holding out the plate even though he wasn’t looking.

“Got dinner right here,” he says pointing at the squirrel with the tip of his knife.

“‘Kay,” you say, “Then can I eat my dinner with you?”

“I -” he says, glancing up at you, “Sure, I guess, ain’t my property so I guess you can do what ‘cha want. Ain’t my place to tell ya what to do.”

“Thanks,” you say. You place a plate next to Daryl on the log he sits on before sitting on the ground across from him, a small fire between you. Your bow and quiver rest on the ground beside you. Daryl sits quietly for a moment, working on skinning his squirrel as you pick at your food.

“Ya don’t have to sit on the ground ya know,” he says.

“I’m fine here,” you say, “But thanks.” You watch him as you eat. He glances at you now and again, but he looks away quickly every time. “Ya know, if you ever wanna talk or have a hunting partner or something, I’m always here,” you tell him.

“You’d do that?” he asks. He begins eating the squirrel he’d just skinned, not even bothering to cook it first. His eyes linger on you longer than they ever had before, but ultimately he looks back down at the ground and avoids your gaze.

“Yeah,” you shrug, “Why not? I could watch your back and you could watch mine. Besides, I’d love to get outta here every once in awhile. It’s depressing around here.”

“Yeah, part’a the reason I came out here. Couldn’t stand to be in that damn, stuffy RV with Carol cryin’ at night,” Daryl says, “Much more peaceful.”

“More dangerous too,” you tell him.

“Why do ya care anyway?” he asks defensively.

“You’re a part of my group,” you shrug, “And we’re friends, right?”

“Don’t have no friends,” Daryl mutters. It hurt that he felt this way.

“You don’t have to be alone,” you tell him, “I know most of them won’t admit it, but we need you.” Daryl swallows thickly, still avoiding your gaze.

“I, uh, I planned on goin’ to look for Sophia again after I fished eatin’,” Daryl says, “Wanna come with?”

“I’d love to,” you answer. Daryl licks his fingers clean before reaching for the plate you’d brought him.

“Thanks for the food,” he says, grabbing the piece of bread and tearing it in half with his large hands.

“No problem,” you tell him, watching him eat. He had always been quiet around you, Hell, this was probably the most he’d spoken to you in one sitting.

“I was thinkin’ ‘bout goin’ back to the farmhouse I think she was stayin’ at,” Daryl says, “She might’ve had to leave cos of a walker or somethin’ and come back after I left.”

“Sounds good,” you say. When the two of you finish up your meals, you grab your gear and get ready to head out.

“Why the bow and arrow?” he asks as you sling your quiver across your back.

“I’m good with it,” you answer, “Why the crossbow?”

“I’m good with it,” he echoes, the corners of his lips turning up for half a second before the smile fades. So he did have a sense of humor. He’d always seemed so serious and angry. You couldn’t really blame him, he had lost his brother and all.

“Come on then,” you say, nodding your head towards the forest, “You’re the tracker, lead the way.”

“Follow me and try not to get yourself killed,” Daryl tells you.

“Yes, sir,” you tease. Reaching behind you, you grab an arrow and notch it in your bow so that you’re ready if a walker attacks.

Daryl leads you to the spot where he’d left off tracking earlier that day. “I’m not sure to go from here,” Daryl says, the sounds of the forest in the background, “There aren’t really any clues.”

“Maybe she ran like you said,” you suggest, “How far do you think she could’ve gone from here?”

“Depends,” Daryl says as he walks around the farmhouse, “She should’ve left some sort of trail, but I can’t find it.”

“Well,” you begin, but Daryl cuts you off.

“Shh,” he shushes you as he holds a finger up to his lips, “Hear that?” You listen and hear the soft rustling of leaves as something stumbles through them.

“Walker,” you whisper. Daryl nods in affirmation. It sounded like there was only one, so you decide to make a game of it. “Bet I can take it out before you can,” you tease.

“Do you know who you’re talkin’ to darlin’?” Daryl asks.

“You may be the best crossbow wielding person left alive, but I’ve got a bow and I’d bet I’m better with this than you are with that,” you tease.

“Prove it,” Daryl dares, his eyes narrowing at you. You smirk before turning and stalking off into the woods, following the sound. Daryl goes around the other way, trying to get there first.

As soon as you see the walker and get a good shot, you let your arrow fly. You hit your target, but your smile becomes a frown as Daryl’s bolt hits the walker at the same time, impossible to know who’s was the kill shot. The walker crumples to the ground, a twig snapping loudly beneath the weight of the body.

“Still a better shot than you are,” you tease as you retrieve your arrow, “And I can shoot faster.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that Sweetheart,” Daryl says with a smile. The sight takes you aback for a moment. You couldn’t remember ever seeing him really, truly smile. He looks away quickly, looking towards the ground as his smile falls away. There was so much you wished you knew about him, but you were afraid of pushing him away by asking questions.

“Shit, you hear that?” you ask. The forest seemed to be coming alive with commotion and groans. The snapping of that twig must’ve attracted attention. Daryl grabs your wrist and pushes you back up against a tree, his finger pressing lightly to your lips as an indication to stay quiet. He grabs his knife from its sheath and heads around the tree, silently hunting the threats that surrounded the two of you.

You notch your arrow again, listening to the sound of shuffling feet. When one is close enough, you move around the tree, loosing your arrow and taking down the walker. You take out a few more before you see Daryl again. His knife easily slides into the walker’s head, killing it.

“Daryl,” you say, pointing your bow and arrow right at him, “Duck.” He looks at you in confusion before the words sink in. Daryl drops to his knees and as he does, you send an arrow flying towards the walker behind him.

“Damn girl,” Daryl says as the walker crumples to the ground, “You are a good shot.”

“Told ya,” you say before going to retrieve your arrow. You hold out a hand to him as you walk by. Daryl takes it and pushed himself up from the ground, wiping the dirt from the knees of his jeans.

“Thanks,” he says.

“No problem,” you answer. Looking around at the dead walkers, you’re thankful that none of them are Sophia.

“No, really, thanks,” he says.

“You’re welcome,” you say, “We do should get back to the farm before we lose the light. Wanna lead the way? I’m not great at directions when the only landmarks are trees.”

“Sure,” he answers. He leads you back to the spot where you’d killed the first walker and grabs his crossbow, slinging it over his shoulder. “Can I ask you something?” he questions.

“Anything,” you answer, “Well, anything within reason. Why, you want my phone number or something?” Daryl laughs quietly before asking his question. You couldn’t believe you’d actually made him laugh.

“Why’d you come out here with me today?” he asks, “I feel like I hardly know you, but here you are, saving my ass.”

“Please,” you scoff, “You’ve saved me more times than I can count. We’ve gotta look out for each other right?”

“So what?” he continues, “You feel like you owe me or somethin’?”

“No,” you answer, “Well, yeah, if I could even the score and save you once for every time you’ve saved me, that would be nice; but that’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why are you here?” he asks.

“I thought you might like some company,” you admit, leaving out the part about Carol encouraging you to talk to him.

“Was it that or something else?” Daryl questions.

“What do you mean?” you ask in return.

“I’ve seen you, Y/N,” Daryl answers, “Watchin’ me like I’m some kind of mystery you can solve.”

“I - I don’t watch you,” you say weakly. Daryl laughs quietly, shaking his head.

“You wouldn’t be so interested if you actually knew me,” he says.

“That’s not true,” you tell him, stopping in your tracks. Daryl continues walking without you.

“I was nothin’ before the world went to shit and I ain’t nothin’ now,” Daryl tells you.

“I know that’s not true. Daryl, stop,” you demand, walking quickly to catch up to him. He doesn’t stop until you place a hand on his shoulder. His body tenses at the touch.

“Man, you don’t know a damn thing about me,” Daryl says, shrugging your hand from his shoulder.

“Then let me,” you beg, “Please.”

“Why does a girl like you want to know a guy like me?” Daryl asks bitterly.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” you groan, “I like you ok? I know, like you said, I don’t know a damn thing about you, but I care about you. All you do is push people away so they never get a chance to know you. If you gave me half a chance, you might even decide you like me too.”

“Never said I didn’t like you,” Daryl mumbles. His hands fist around the strap of his crossbow as he kicks at the dirt with the toe of his shoe. “I’ve never had great people skills,” he adds quietly, “I’ve always been kinda a loner, ‘cept for Merle.”

“I always thought you hated me,” you whisper.

“No,” Daryl answers quickly, looking up from the ground. His blue eyes search yours for some sort of clue about what you’re thinking. This was probably the longest he’d ever looked at you, but his stare makes you cast your own eyes down.

“Look,” you sigh, “You wanna know why I wanna get to know you? I think you’re a better man than you let on, maybe even a better man than you think you are. You say you’re worthless, but I know that’s bull shit. I think you deserve more credit than you give yourself.”

“No one’s ever told me that before,” Daryl says quietly.

“I thought you should know,” you shrug, looking up at him slowly. He’s still watching you, brow creased and his bottom lip between his teeth. Suddenly, you feel the desire to kiss him, but you don’t want to push him away. Closing the distance between the two of you, you press your lips to his cheek before pulling back. He tenses as you touch him and as you move away, you instantly regret your choice and look down to the ground again.

You jump slightly as two of his fingers hook beneath your chin and lift your gaze to his. He seems conflicted, but suddenly he leans in and presses his lips to yours. They’re a little dry and cracked, but you don’t mind. One of his hands presses flat to the small of your back, the other sliding up to cup your cheek.

You lean your bow against a nearby tree before you thread your hands into his hair as he deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding along your bottom lip. Parting your lips, you grant him entrance and his tongue maps out the space of your mouth. His hand slides back into your hair and becomes a fist. You kiss him until you’re struggling for air before you break the kiss breathlessly.

“I’ve never been kissed like that before,” Daryl admits, his eyes almost completely lacking their usual bright blue.

“I don’t think I have either,” you tell him. Moving away just slightly, you pull your quiver over your head and lean it next to your bow. Slowly, you run your hands up his abdomen and chest, pressing your fingertips beneath the strap of his crossbow. Daryl realizes what you’re after and pulls the weapon over his head, laying it on the ground before wrapping you up in his strong arms.

Daryl captures your lips again, kissing you long and deep as you fist your hands in his clothing. You tug his clothes as you walk backwards, your back hitting a tree not far from where you’d left your weapons. One of Daryl’s hands presses against the tree beside your head, his other arm wrapped tightly around your waist. “Isn’t safe,” Daryl says, breaking the kiss and opting to leave kisses down the length of your neck.

“Neither is anything else,” you mutter, your words becoming a soft moan as he hits the sweet spot behind your ear. You slide your hands along his chest until your fingers find the buttons of his shirt. Daryl moves back quickly and grabs your wrists. His brow furrows and his tongue flicks out to wet his lips, conflict in his eyes. “I won’t hurt you, Daryl,” you whisper, “I’d never hurt you.”

You coax one of your hands from his and caress his stubble covered cheek gently. “Can I trust you?” Daryl asks.

“Yes,” you answer simply. From the tone of his voice, you could tell he’d been hurt by someone before.

“Then I trust you,” Daryl says. His callused hands slide up your arms, shoulders, and neck before sliding messily into your hair. He kisses you deeply and this time doesn’t stop you as you begin to unbutton his shirt. Pressing the material to the sides, you slide your hands along his bare skin.

Daryl breaks the kiss and begins leaving kisses down your neck again as his hands move to unbutton your shirt. His kisses move lower with each inch of newly exposed skin. You moan softly as he pushes your shirt from your shoulders and kisses your breasts through the thin material of your bra, his callused fingertips caressing your soft skin.

“Daryl,” you mutter, your back arching from the tree. His hands slide around your body and unhook your bra, letting your breasts fall free. “Oh, Daryl,” you moan as he sucks your nipple between his lips, flicking the hardened bud with his tongue. One of his hands moves to squeeze your neglected breast.

It had been so long since you’d been touched like this. All of your senses were on edge. You tried to keep your mind in two places, part of you listening and looking for danger, the other part focused on Daryl. Admittedly, Daryl was winning out.

Sliding your fingers down, you’d find the waistband of his jeans hanging low around his hips. “Daryl, I want you,” you whisper before moving any farther. Daryl hums against your skin.

“Want you too,” he mutters. Biting your bottom lip, you unbutton his jeans and slip your hand into them only to find bare skin.

“Y/N,” Daryl groans, his erection heavy in your hand. His hips buck forward as you begin stroking his length, wetness pooling between your legs. He rests his forehead against your shoulder as you smear a bead of precum across his tip, your fingers tracing the vein on the underside of his cock.

Suddenly he catches your wrist and pulls your hand from his pants. He presses his other hand to your chest, telling you to stay where you were. You were afraid he’d heard something. Instead, he shrugs his shirt and vest from his shoulders, laying his shirt out across the ground before you.

You watch as he kicks off his shoes. He pulls a gun from its holster and lays it to one side of his shirt before pulling a knife from its sheath and tossing it down so that it sticks straight out of the ground to the other side of his shirt. “Damn, man, how many weapons you got?” you tease, “I might have to strip search your ass.”

Daryl grins as he pushes down his pants, his hard cock springing free. “You mean like this?” he asks, making you roll your eyes roll, “Like what you see?” As he undresses himself, you kick you’d boots off and toe off your socks.

“Smart ass,” you mutter. Daryl kicks his pants to the side before dropping to his knees before you. He looks up at you with pleading eyes. Wetting your lips, you nod and his hands instantly move to unbutton your jeans. His fingers dip beneath the material and pull it down. “Daryl,” you moan, your hand reaching down to fist in his hair as he leaves kisses down one thigh and up the other, stubble scratching lightly against your skin. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he says, eyes wandering over your nearly naked form. He helps you step out of the clothing before he turns his attention to the spot between your legs. You moan as he kisses your sex through the thin material of your panties. If they weren’t wet before, your panties are certainly wet now.

“Daryl, please,” you moan. Leaning back, Daryl slips his fingertips beneath your panties and pulls them down. As soon as the material is gone, he takes hold of your hips and guides you down to him. You drape your arms over his shoulders as you straddle his lap, placing kisses all across his chest. Daryl tenses as you run your fingertips along the ridges of scars across his back. “Sorry,” you whisper, pulling your fingers away from him.

“No, it’s just, nevermind,” he says, “I don’t wanna talk ‘bout it.” You nod, deciding not to push him. He’d tell you what the scars were when he was ready.

His hands slide up your back, fingertips trailing lightly against your skin. “I want you,” you tell him again as you caress his cheek. Slowly, you rock yourself against him, his hard cock nestled in your wet folds.

“Y/N,” Daryl groans, his eyes falling shut as you rock yourself against him.

“We have to go slow,” you tell him, “It’s been awhile since I’ve been with anyone.” You hadn’t been touched like this since before the apocalypse and since then, you hadn’t found enough free time to touch yourself either.

“I - I’ve never been with anyone,” Daryl admits as if he were ashamed.

“That’s ok,” you assure him gently, “Just follow your instincts.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Daryl says.

“You won’t,” you promise.

“But -” he begins to protest.

“If you hurt me, I’ll tell you,” you say. Daryl nods. Leaning in, you capture his lips as you reach between you and take hold of his length. Daryl’s breathing quickens as you line him up with your entrance and begin sinking down onto him.

You have to rock your hips, taking him in little bits at a time as you adjust to his large size. “You’re so tight,” Daryl groans. He nestles his face into the crook of your neck as you sheath him inside you, taking him in to the hilt. You kiss down his neck and across his shoulder as you give yourself a moment to adjust.

Daryl groans loudly as you lift and lower your hips above him. “Shh,” you shush him, “You’ll attract unwanted company.”

“Damn walkers,” Daryl grumbles. He occupies his mouth with your skin, kissing and sucking. The sounds he makes vibrate along your skin as you ride him, slowly at first. His cock slides along your g-spot with each shift of your hips. Daryl hands grasp at you as you increase your pace, taking him deep inside you again and again. “Fuck, Y/N,” Daryl mumbles against your skin, “You’re perfect.”

Daryl takes hold of your hips and begins lifting his own in time with your movements. “Oh, Daryl,” you moan, head tipping back as he thrusts up into you again and again. You dig your fingertips into the skin of his shoulders as your stomach twists and knots.

“Y/N,” Daryl grunts, his cock throbbing against your walls. He presses his lips to yours and you hungrily swallow the sounds he makes. “I can’t -” he groans.

“It’s ok,” you tell him, “I’m close too.” Daryl breaks the kiss and presses rough kisses along your collarbone. You gasp as he sucks your skin between his teeth, making sure to leave a mark. Daryl groans as you lift and lower your hips slower, letting him feel your walls begin to flutter around him.

“Y/N,” he grunts. Daryl pulls you tight against him as he thrusts up into you one last time. His cock pulses as he spills himself deep within you. The muscles in his body tense and relax as he reaches his high.

“Daryl,” you moan, trying to keep your voice low, “Oh, Daryl!” Your body shudders as the knot in your stomach snaps and your walls clamp down around his pulsing length, milking him for all he’s worth. Euphoria and bliss you hadn’t felt in a long time wash over you and you were glad it was Daryl giving those feelings to you. You rock yourself against him, working yourself and him through your highs.

Nestling your face into the crook of his neck, you mark his skin in the spot where his neck meets his shoulder. “Y/N,” he whispers as you begin to slow your movements, his cock still buried inside you, “Was - was I ok?”

“You were perfect,” you tell him with a blissed out smile. You run your fingers through his hair as he traces the mark he’d left on your collarbone.

“I know I’m not much -” he begins.

“Daryl, stop,” you say gently as you caress his cheek, “You’re perfect.”

“I thought … I wasn’t sure if …” he doesn’t seem sure of what to say, “That RV is real cramped and stuffy and, well, I’ve got plenty of room in my tent …”

“Are you asking me to spend the night with you?” you tease.

“Well not if you don’t want to,” he says, trying to sound like he doesn’t care if you say yes or no, “Don’t really matter, but I suppose I could use the company, and the warmth. Gets real cold at night.” You could see in his eyes that he desperately wanted you to say yes.

“I’d like that,” you tell him, placing kisses to his cheeks and neck.

“It’s getting dark,” Daryl says as he traces random patterns across your skin.

“We should be getting back,” you agree.

“But I don’t wanna move,” he adds, making you chuckle. He pulls you to him and wraps you up in his arms.

“Me neither,” you whisper, melting against him.

The leaves of the trees block out the light of the setting sun and you know it’s time to go. You didn’t want to get stuck out in the woods after dark, even if it was with Daryl. Eventually, Daryl lets you go, groaning in disappointment as you move from his lap, his cock sliding from you. You both dress yourselves, cleaning yourselves up and brushing the dirt from your clothing before gathering your weapons.

“Ready?” Daryl asks, holding out his hand to you. You easily slip your hand into his and let him guide you back towards camp.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could I please ask for a sequel to Outcast? It was amazing and I love Daryl. I would love if you wrote more!

Warnings: Language, smut, oral, Daryl is injured

Fic:

“Daryl, I’ve gotta go,” you whisper.

“Please don’t,” he mutters into your hair, “Just a little while longer.”

“You said that five minutes ago,” you laugh. Daryl’s arms tighten around you and he pulls you tighter, your back pressed firmly against his chest. His body curls around yours, making you the little spoon as he presses kisses to the top of your head. He was surprisingly clingy, but you couldn’t say that you minded.

You’d spent the night with him and he started to open up to you. He told you little bits and pieces about his past. It wasn’t much, but he told you small things about his childhood and about some of the adventures he had with his brother. There was a sadness behind his every word, but you let him know you were there for him. You’d liked him the second you’d met him, but now you were starting to fall for him.

“Why can’t you stay here?” Daryl asks.

“They know I didn’t go back last night,” you tell him, “And I’ve got chores I need to do.”

“You’re embarrassed,” Daryl says. His arms loosen around you. You quickly turn over and sit up on your knees so that you look down at him, the blanket falling away from your naked body.

“Embarrassed?” you ask, “Why the Hell would I be embarrassed?”

“For last night,” he answers, propping himself up on his elbows, “Spendin’ it with the filthy redneck instead of the rest of the group.”

“First off, I ain’t embarrassed,” you tell him, “And secondly, you think I give a damn ‘bout what those pansy assed, lyin’, cheatin’ sons o’ bitches think?” Daryl grins at you as he reaches up to cup your cheek.

“Then spend the day with me,” he suggests, the rough pad of his thumb running gently along your cheekbone.

“I - I really do have chores to do,” you say, reaching up to catch his hand, “Gotta earn my keep ‘round here, ya know?” You wrap your hands around his larger one.

“They can spare ya for a day,” Daryl says hopefully.

“Laurie might kick my ass,” you laugh, “Or try to anyway.”

“She better not lay a damn finger on you if she knows what’s good for her,” Daryl replies.

“It was a joke,” you tell him.

“I don’t care,” Daryl says as he sits up, “Someone tries to hurt you and they’re a dead man … or woman … or whatever, don’t matter, I’ll kill ‘em.”

“You’re cute when you’re being protective,” you tease him. Daryl grabs you and flips you onto your back, settling himself above you.

“Yeah, well, I’m protective of the things I love,” Daryl answers, leaning down to darken the mark on your collarbone.

“Love?” you ask, carding your fingers through his hair.

“You know what I mean,” Daryl says as he brushes your hair back away from your face, “You’re someone I care ‘bout and I don’t wanna see you hurt.” You notice he keeps himself from repeating the word.

“Oh,” you whisper.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, propping himself above you.

“Nothin’,” you say as you reach up to brush his cheek, “I care about you too.” Daryl smiles before leaning down to press his lips to yours. You fist your hands in his hair and deepen the kiss, both of you fighting for dominance. Daryl rests one of his forearms beside your head, his hand twisting into your hair. His other hand moves down to your hip, his thumb pressing gentle circles against your skin.

You moan as Daryl rocks his hips down against you, his hard cock prodding your thigh. “I love that sound,” he whispers, lips brushing your ear. He kept using that word, but not exactly in the way you wanted it to be used. You moan again as he begins leaving rough kisses down your neck and across your shoulder. Hooking your leg around his waist, you flip him over onto his back and straddle his lap, sitting up above him. “Damn, you’re beautiful,” Daryl whispers, his hands sliding down your sides.

Daryl groans as you drag your nails lightly down his chest. “I do have chores,” you tell him as you rock yourself against him, “But I’d feel bad if I left you like this.”

“Then don’t,” Daryl suggests, his hips bucking up to meet you. He’s so hard, cock throbbing and begging for release. You smile at him before leaning down and leaving kisses across his chest before moving down his body. Daryl groans as he realizes what you’re doing. You place a kiss to his abdomen, right above his bellybutton. His eyes flood with lust as he watches you leave kisses lower and lower on his body.

“I really do have to leave after this,” you tell him as you wrap your hand around the base of his cock.

“We’ll see about that,” Daryl responds. He watches as you press your tongue flat against the underside of his cock and leave a long lick along his length, following the vein throbbing there. “Y/N,” Daryl groans. You leave kitten licks against his tip before pressing your tongue flat to his slit and lapping up the bead of precum that had collected there. One of his hands reaches down and fists messily into your hair, tugging and begging you for more.

You begin stroking his shaft as you suck his balls into your mouth. Daryl groans, his head tipping back. You tease him with your tongue as you stroke him up and down, your fingertips lightly massaging his precum into the head of his cock and using it as lube as you stroke him. The way he looks and sounds makes heat pool in your core, your stomach twisting with desire.

“Y/N, please,” Daryl groans, looking down at you with a pleading expression. You decide to give him exactly what he wants. Letting his balls fall from your mouth, you press wet, open mouthed kisses up his shaft. “Y/N … Y/N, please,” Daryl begs, his tone becoming more desperate. His hand tightens in your hair in anticipation.

Looking up at him through your lashes, you suck his tip between your lips. You hum as the salty taste of precum washes across your taste buds. Daryl gasps at the vibrations, his hips bucking towards you. His hand tugs at your hair, encouraging you to take more of him in. You take him into your mouth as far as you can, his tip hitting the back of your throat as you work what you can’t fit in your mouth with your hand.

“Y/N, yes,” he groans as you bob your head. His eyes flutter shut and his head tips back again, his jaw becoming lax. Soft moans and groans fall from his lips as you hollow your cheeks around him. Reaching up, you drag your nails along his skin. He takes your hand in his, fingers interlacing, and squeezes. “So good,” he groans, “I can’t last much longer.”

His cock throbs against your tongue and you suck harder. You focus on his tip, sucking and swirling your tongue around it. Daryl’s cock twitches in your hand as you stroke him. You wanted him to come undone, wanted to watch as he loses himself.

“Y/N, I -” he begins, but doesn’t get to finish his thought, “Y/N!” His muscles convulse as his cock pulses, his cum spilling against your tongue. You hum at the salty taste, drinking down every drop he has to give you. Daryl’s hand fists in your hair and tugs, making you moan. His other hand squeezes yours tightly as his hips buck. You work him through his high, licking and sucking as you continue to stroke him, milking him for all he’s worth. “Damn, woman,” Daryl mutters, “How’d you get so good at that? … Never mind, I don’t wanna know.”

You chuckle as you let him fall from your lips and crawl your way back up his body. “Satisfied?” you ask, kissing and nipping at his skin.

“Not entirely,” Daryl answers. You look up at him with narrowed eyes, wondering what you’d done wrong. “Your turn,” he tells you before flipping you over and caging you beneath him.

“Daryl,” you laugh, “I’ve gotta go. The group’s expecting me.”

“Just stay for a little while longer,” Daryl mumbles between placing kisses across your chest, “I wanna give you the same pleasure you just gave me.” You writhe beneath him as he sucks one of your nipples between his lips. Any desire to leave his tent is completely erased.

“Daryl,” you moan as one of his hands slides down your body. He slides two fingers along your folds before plunging them into you. You gasp as his callused fingertips curl inside you, searching for your g-spot. He finds it easily, making you cry out.

“You wanna tell the whole camp what we’re doin’, Babe?” Daryl teases as he leaves a trail of kisses across the valley of your breasts. He takes your neglected nipple between his lips, flicking the hardened bud with his tongue before sucking hard.

“Oh, shut up. You’re not exactly quiet either,” you accuse. Daryl curls his fingers hard against your g-spot, making you moan loudly again. He pumps his fingers in and out of you, the heel of his hand pressing against your clit. “Daryl,” you moan, your thighs squeezing together as you try to give yourself extra friction. You reach for his hair and tug, making him groan.

“Like that don’t ya?” Daryl asks as he kisses his way back up your body.

“Yes,” you moan as he slides an arm beneath your neck. He slots himself against your side, his skin hot against your own. You look up at him, soaking in every line and curve of his face. Drawing your bottom lip between your teeth, you reach up to cup his cheek.

Something told you that you were falling for him. You loved everything about him; loved the way he treated you and wanted to give you anything you wanted; loved the way he made you feel. Even so, the prospect of actually falling in love with someone was mortifying. In this world, you knew things could only end in tragedy.

You guide his lips to yours, kissing him deeply as he continues to finger fuck you. Need and desire build within you as your stomach begins to twist with pleasure. Your hand slides down his arm, fingertips digging into his bicep. Daryl’s tongue coaxes its way into your mouth and you easily grant him access. He groans against your lips and you hungrily swallow the sound.

“So beautiful,” he mumbles, your walls fluttering around his fingers. The heel of his hand presses hard to clit, the pressure in your stomach nearing the breaking point. Feeling him growing hard against your thigh only brings you closer to your high.

“Daryl,” you moan, hips bucking against his hand, “Daryl, please, I … Daryl!” Daryl captures your lips and muffles your moans as he curls his fingers inside you one last time. Your body shudders as the knot in your stomach snaps, your fingertips digging into his bicep. Daryl hungrily swallows your moans as he kisses you deeply. Wave after wave of pleasure washes over you as Daryl works you through your high.

“So tight around my fingers,” Daryl mutters against your lips, “Can’t wait to feel you around my dick later.”

“Later?” you ask.

“Yeah, later,” he answers as he pulls his fingers from you and lies back, “Got chores don’t ya?” Daryl sucks his fingers between his lips, humming as if the taste of you were a delicacy.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” you groan, “Just fuck me already.” Daryl doesn’t miss a beat. He quickly moves above you and cages you beneath him, his lips crashing against yours. His fingers intertwine with yours and he presses your hands back against the pillow to either side of your head.

“Promise you won’t leave me,” Daryl asks of you as he presses random kisses across your chest.

“Yeah, I promise,” you tell him, squeezing his hands.

“I mean it, Y/N,” Daryl says, “I can’t lose nobody else.”

“Daryl, I won’t leave you,” you promise him, knowing that this promise really meant nothing in the world you now lived in, “Not intentionally.”

“Promise you won’t do anythin’ stupid either,” he asks.

“I promise I’ll try,” you answer him, “But you gotta promise me the same thing.”

“Cross my heart,” Daryl promises. He knees your legs apart and you easily part them for him, allowing him to settle himself between your legs. His hands squeeze yours tightly as he slides into you and fills you to the hilt. Your walls stretch to accommodate his size and you can’t help but moan as he slides against your g-spot.

“Daryl,” you whisper over and over like a prayer as he pulls back and thrusts into you again.

“Damn, you’re perfect,” he groans, his pace becoming faster and rougher. One of his hands releases yours and finds its way to your hip, holding it tightly. You wrap your legs around his waist as your free hand twists into his hair.

His cock throbs against your walls as they begin to tighten around him. Daryl nestles his face into the crook of your neck, kissing and nipping at the skin. Each of his rough thrusts sends you higher and higher as the knot begins to reform in your stomach. His moan, groans, and grunts are music to your ears, each little sound making your stomach twist with pleasure. You guide his lips back to yours, kissing him deeply as you teeter on the edge of orgasm.

“Y/N,” Daryl grunts, his thrusts becoming erratic. You squeeze his hand tighter and fist your hand in his hair as your back arches. The pressure in your stomach reaches the breaking point and you can’t hold back any longer.

“Daryl!” you cry out louder than you should have. You moan and whimper as Daryl brings you to your high. Your body shudders as your walls clamp down around him, your back arching and your toes curling. Daryl presses his lips to yours, muffling your noises as he continues thrusting, working you through your high and chasing his own.

His cock throbs hard and Daryl moans against your lips. Daryl’s hand squeezes yours, his other hand gripping your hip tight as his cock pulses. “Y/N,” he whispers as he spills himself inside you. Daryl’s muscles tensing as pleasure courses through him. His hips buck against you, prolonging your orgasm. Your walls continue to clamp around him as you ride out the aftershocks of your climax.

Daryl rests his forehead against yours as you both begin to come down from your highs. His hand slides up from your hip and moves to cup your cheek. “I know you gotta go,” Daryl says.

“Five more minutes,” you tell him, making him laugh. The two of you stay wrapped up in each other for as long as you dare. Finally he pulls himself from you. You sit up and draw your knees to your chest as you watch him get dressed. “You plan on looking for Sophia again today,” you ask, your eyes wandering over the tattoos and raised scars on his back.

“Yeah,” Daryl answers, “Thinkin’ ‘bout borrowing a horse.”

“You really think that Hershel guy is gonna let you borrow a horse?” you question.

“No,” he replies, “But I’m gonna borrow it anyway.”

“Thief,” you accuse playfully. Daryl turns to grin at you, leaning in to kiss you before getting ready to head out.

“I’ll see you later,” Daryl says, his fingertips trailing along your cheek.

“Later,” you confirm. You wait for him to leave before you begin dressing yourself. After getting ready, you head back to the RV to see what work needs to be done.

The rest of the group is already up and about, busy with one task or another. To your dismay, Andrea has already claimed guard duty. There was really no point in her being a lookout instead of you. Not to be rude, but you were a much better shot than she was. On top of that, you didn’t have to use a gun, the weapon Hershel had forbidden your group from using on the property. This left you to help with the cooking, washing, and other chores. If you were lucky, you might get the chance to go out hunting for some dinner.

“Sleep well?” Glenn asks when he sees you.

“Just fine, why?” you answer.

“No reason,” he responds with a smug look, “How did Daryl take to spending the night with someone?”

“Shut up,” you tell him.

“What?” he laughs.

“I know about you and the farmer’s daughter,” you say. His smile instantly falls. “Don’t worry,” you assure him, “I won’t say a word.” You chuckle as you walk away, leaving him behind you.

The day is mostly spent doing mundane chores. Carol is understandably distraught and doesn’t speak much. When she does speak, she tells you how thankful she is for Daryl’s help. “There are a lot of people who wouldn’t help me the way Daryl has,” Carol says sadly, “He’s a good man.”

“You should tell him that,” you tell her, “I’m sure he’d be happy to hear it.”

“Are you and Daryl together now?” Laurie asks you.

“Since everyone seems to know already, I guess I might as well talk about it,” you groan, “Honestly, I like him, but I don’t know what Daryl and I are.”

“You should be careful,” Laurie warns you, “Being with him might have … consequences.”

“Such as?” you ask, wondering where she was going with this.

“Just be careful,” she repeats.

“Whatever,” you mumble. Suddenly a gunshot goes off, making all three of you look up in concern. You instantly drop what you’re doing, grab your bow and quiver, and run outside. Looking around, you see Rick, Shane helping a third person walk. Andrea, T-Dog, Dale, and Glenn are out with them. It doesn’t take you long to realize it’s Daryl between Rick and Shane. “Daryl,” you scream. You drop your bow and throw off your quiver before sprinting to him. “Who did this?” you shout angrily.

“I - I thought he was a walker,” Andrea explains.

“I oughta kill you,” you growl. You poise yourself to strike at her, but Dale catches you and Glen helps him to hold you back. “Let me go,” you demand.

“Y/N, it was an accident,” Dale tells you.

“Why are you protecting her?” you ask, “She shot him.” Glenn and Dale lead you back to the house as Shane and Rick help Daryl there.

“Andrea made a mistake,” Dale says.

“A mistake that could’ve cost Daryl his life,” you growl.

“Daryl will be alright,” Glenn tells you quietly. You weren’t so sure. Daryl was covered in blood. He was bleeding from a wound on his head as well as another one somewhere in his side, not to mention the litany of scratches and bruises littering what you can see of his body.

“Daryl,” you whisper. All you wanted to do was hold him and make him as comfortable as you could. He looked like he was in a daze and you couldn’t be sure just how badly he was injured. The sight of him like this brings tears to your eyes.

When they get Daryl back to the house, Hershel agrees to help with Daryl’s wounds. They take Daryl to one of the bedrooms and lie him down on the bed. He groans in pain as he lies back against the sheets. As soon as Daryl is safely in bed, you usher the rest of your group out, wanting to be alone with Daryl for a moment before Hershel returns.

“What happened to you?” you ask as you rush to his side, “You promised you wouldn’t do anything stupid.” Sitting beside him, you reach down to caress his cheek. Daryl looks up at you groggily, but doesn’t answer you.

Finally, Hershel returns with some damp towels and a first aid kit. “What happened to him?” Hershel asks you as if you knew.

“Andrea shot him,” you answer, “But as for the rest of it, I ain’t got a clue.” You take one of the rags and begin wiping the blood and dirt from Daryl’s face, careful not to cause him any extra harm.

“Got anything to do with the horse he took without my permission?” he asks.

“Not a clue,” you answer.

“All he had to do was ask,” Hershel says, “I coulda’ told him that horse would throw him.” You decide not to answer.

Once Daryl has been cleaned up, you help Hershel tend to Daryl’s wounds. Hershel wraps the two largest wounds up in bandages. Daryl hisses in pain as you help him to sit up so that Hershel can wrap a bandage around Daryl’s abdomen.

“We should leave him now,” Hershel tells you, “He needs rest.”

“No,” Daryl says as he grabs your wrist, “Stay, please.”

“Would that be alright?” you ask Hershel. You have to tear your eyes away from Daryl in order to look at Hershel.

“Well, I suppose,” Hershel answers, “But like I said, he needs rest.”

“Rest, got it,” you reply. Hershel hesitates before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. Looking back down at Daryl, you caress his cheek and smile gently. “You’re gonna be alright,” you tell him, “What happened to you out there?”

“Damn horse saw a snake and threw me,” he answers. He turns to his right side to face you and to keep pressure off the wound in his left side. “Fell down a hill and one of my bolts went through my side,” he adds, “Then some walkers showed up. Made my way back here just to get shot by that bitch.”

“Daryl, I’m so sorry,” you tell him.

“What the Hell for?” he questions.

“I wish I had been there with you,” you answer.

“You’re here now,” Daryl says. You move to lie down next to him, but when Daryl realizes he has both the pillows, he slides back so that you can share them with him. You snuggle in close to him and place your hand flat against his chest.

“From now on,” you begin, “I’ll be there for you, I promise.”

“What ‘bout chores?” he asks. His left hand rests against your side, thumb pressing circles against your shirt.

“Chores be damned,” you answer, making Daryl grin, “Don’t care if they need laundry done, you’re more important than havin’ clean clothes.” You press your lips to his before Daryl pulls you closer to him. He tucks your head beneath his chin and you can hear his heart beating in his chest, the sound comforting. You love him, you were sure of that now, but you’re afraid to say it; you were terrified of losing him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could I please request a next part (3) to outcast. What would happen if the reader professed her love? Would Daryl be reluctant, accept it, or push her away? AND Maybe a part 3 to outcast where someone (rick maybe) walks in on Daryl and the reader having sex, please?

Warnings: Language, angst, smut

Fic:

Daryl lies by your side in his tent, twisting an arrow between his fingers. You have yourself propped up against the pillows so that you can look down at him. Luckily he was healing well, but that didn’t stop you from worrying about him. The wound on his head no longer needed a bandage and the one in his side only needed two small patches. You run your hand through his hair comfortingly and you smile down at him as he looks up at you.

“How do you feel?” you ask. Though he was healing, Hershel said you should keep an eye on him none the less.

“Fine,” he says, “Better with you here.”

“Glad to hear it,” you say, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. The sound of footsteps makes you look up. Your smile is replaced by a scowl as you see Andrea approaching. Daryl looks back to the arrow in his hands, pretending to be very interested in it.

“Oh, hey, Y/N,” Andrea says nervously, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Where else would I be?” you ask bitterly, “Someone’s gotta take care of the man you shot.”

“I, uh, about that,” she continues, playing with a book in her hands, “That’s actually why I’m here. I wanted to apologize for shooting you, Daryl.”

“Took you long enough,” you mutter. Daryl drops the arrow down to his chest as Andrea offers him the book as a peace offering.

“I really didn’t mean to hurt you,” Andrea says, “It really was an accident. From where I was, you looked like a walker and I thought I was protecting the group.” She thought wrong, but you refrain yourself from pointing that out.

“You were just trying to protect the group,” Daryl repeats, “I don’t blame you; but you shoot me again, you best pray I’m dead.”

“Best kill me too,” you add, “Cos if you so much as take aim at him again, you’ll be dead before you pull the trigger.”

“Yeah, it won’t happen again,” Andrea says, smiling a nervous smile, “I really am sorry. I - I should be getting back to the RV.” She turns and quickly leaves the tent, heading back to the rest of the group. As soon as she leaves the tent, you zip it closed. Even though the tent was practically see through, it still felt more private.

“You mean that?” Daryl asks, tossing the book to the side as he looks up at you.

“Mean what?” you ask, caressing his cheek gently.

“You’d protect me like that?” he asks.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” you ask in return.

“I don’t really mean nothin’,” Daryl says, “I’m just a body to keep you warm at night. You could replace me in a heartbeat if you wanted.” 

“Says who?” you question, sliding down so that you’re lying on your side, your eyes searching his.

“It’s just a fact,” he shrugs, “Whatever this is between us, it don’t mean a thing. It’s just sex. You don’t have to protect me cos we’re sleeping together.”

“You’re right,” you tell him, “I don’t have to protect you just cos we’re sleeping together. I want to protect you cos I care about you. Daryl, I’m not with you just for the sex. Don’t get me wrong, the sex is great, but I’m here cos I love you.” The last three words slip out without you even really realizing.

“Don’t say that,” Daryl says, “Don’t lay there lookin’ at me like that, sayin’ you love me when I know it’s a lie.” Your heart breaks as soon as the words leave his lips.

“But it’s not a lie,” you say quietly. Daryl pushes your hand away from him and rolls over, holding his pillow and blanket tight to his body as if they could protect him from what he was feeling.

“Yes it is,” Daryl says, “You love the idea of not being alone or of havin’ someone to lay next to at night, but you don’t love me, so don’t say it.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry,” you whisper. His body tenses as you place your hand against his back.

“There’s no point in being sorry,” he snaps. You pull your hand away from him and scoot away, pulling your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. “There ain’t no point in lovin’ me either,” he adds softly.

“That’s not true,” you whisper.

“Look at the world we live in,” he says, “Lovin’ somebody is dangerous. You’ll only get hurt and it’ll be my fault.” In that moment, you knew he wasn’t really talking about the walkers.

“I know,” you tell him quietly, “But even if you don’t love me, it’s not gonna change how I feel about you. Besides, what’s the point in bein’ alive if I’m not even livin’? Survivin’ for the sake of survivin’ is pointless. If I’m not tryin’ to live some sort of life, then I might as well be dead.”

“Don’t say that either,” Daryl demands, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Then don’t push me away,” you tell him. You knew he’d been hurt before and you refused to add to that pain. More than anything, you wanted to be there for him.

“I’ve never loved anybody before,” he says quietly, still facing away from you, “I know it’s dumb and it’ll make me reckless, and that’s exactly why I haven’t let myself say it.”

“You love me?” you ask shyly.

“Yes … no … I don’t know,” Daryl answers as if he’s annoyed with himself for having said anything at all, “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” Daryl looks at you over his shoulder before reluctantly rolling over. “I’m so afraid of losing you,” he says quietly, “Just like I’ve lost everything and everyone else.”

“I’ve told you before, I’m not going to leave you, not if I have anything to say about it,” you remind him.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Daryl says, “You’re going to leave me and you’re not going to have a choice, or it’ll be the other way around.”

“I try not to think about it like that,” you tell him.

“It’s so much easier not to care,” Daryl tells you.

“I’m sure it is,” you say, “But I can’t live that way.”

“Why me?” he asks. Pushing himself up, a hiss escapes his lips.

“Daryl, don’t,” you say, crawling to him and helping him to lie back down.

“Why me?” he repeats, looking up at you, “Why not Shane or Glenn?”

“You mean why, out of the dozens of men left alive, I chose you?” you tease.

“Honestly, yes,” he answers.

“Because Shane’s a dick and Glenn’s only got eyes for the farmer’s daughter. Besides, you’re not like them,” you tell him, “You act tough, but underneath it all, you’re sweet, kind, caring, and selfless. Carol isn’t your family, but you’re out there risking your life time and time again in order to find her daughter. There aren’t a lot of people who would do that. Even before this whole apocalypse, I never wanted someone like Shane, or Glenn, or even Rick. I wanted someone like you. Even though the world’s gone to shit, the one good thing that came out of it was that I found you. I love you Daryl.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever really cared about me,” Daryl says.

“That isn’t true,” you say, “I care about you. Not to mention Carol. I know she appreciates everything you’ve done and the rest of the group -”

“It is true,” he refutes, “My mother was neglectful and my father was an abusive, alcoholic asshole. All those scars on my back, they’re because of him. If I had died, neither of them would’ve even noticed.”

“Daryl,” you whisper sadly, cupping his cheek. You knew the scars had come from something terrible, but you hadn’t imagined this. The only thing you wanted to do was make things better, but you didn’t know how.

“When he got old enough, Merle left. He claimed he didn’t know about the abuse, but I never believed him. He just left me alone like that. Guess I can’t blame him for wantin’ to leave,” Daryl continues, “… I saw him in the woods the other day.”

“You saw him?” you question.

“Well, it was some sort of blood loss hallucination,” he explains, “But I saw him. He told me that he was the only one who’s ever cared about me.”

“Well, he’s a liar,” you tell him. Daryl shakes his head and looks away. “What else did he say?” you ask.

“Don’t matter,” Daryl says, looking back to you worriedly, “It’s not like he was really there and I didn’t listen to him.”

“Daryl, please, I want to know,” you encourage him.

“He told me to kill Rick,” Daryl replies, “And you.” He looks away as if he’s ashamed.

“But you didn’t,” you say, cupping his cheek and turning him to face you again.

“You don’t even sound concerned,” Daryl says, “I have voices in my head telling me to kill you, but you just sit there trying to make me feel better about myself. What’s wrong with you?”

“Maybe I’m crazy,” you shrug, “But I trust you. Like you said, he was a hallucination. How much blood had you lost when you saw him, when you heard him say those things? I know that wasn’t you and I know you won’t hurt me.”

“You’re insane,” Daryl accuses, “I guess maybe I am too.”

“Then maybe we’re perfect for each other,” you comment.

“I think I’m in love with you, Y/N,” Daryl says. The words make your heart race.

“Oh yeah?” you ask, “Did you decide that just now?”

“No,” he answers, “But I just decided to admit it. You’re right, what’s the point in bein’ alive if you’re not livin’?” In one swift movement, he pulls you down to lie on the blankets and cages you beneath him.

“Daryl,” you laugh as you run your hands along his bare chest, “Take it easy.”

“Don’t want to,” Daryl says, “I wanna spend every minute livin’ my life to the fullest and that’s cos of you. You’ve given me somethin’ to live for, you know that?”

“Funny,” you say, reaching up to caress his cheek, “You’ve done the same for me.” Leaning down, Daryl captures your lips and kisses you deeply. You unbutton the last few buttons of his shirt and run your fingertips along his skin.

“I love you,” Daryl mutters against your lips. You could listen to him repeat those words for an eternity.

“I love you too,” you mutter back. You tangle one hand into his hair and coax his tongue into your mouth with your own. Your free hand explores his arm and shoulder, his muscles tense beneath his skin.

You moan as Daryl rocks his hips against you, his growing cock pressed against your core. “I want you,” Daryl groans, his hips pressing against you again and again.

“Daryl, stop,” you plead, placing a hand to his chest.

“Don’t you want me?” he asks, hurt in his voice.

“It’s not that, trust me,” you assure him, “I just don’t want you hurting yourself.”

“I ain’t gonna hurt myself,” Daryl says.

“But you heard what Hershel said,” you remind him, “You need to take things slowly until you’re fully healed. That means lying down and resting.”

“I can go slow,” Daryl says as if he’d just been insulted, “Is that what you want, Sweetheart? I’ll take my time, make love to every inch of you.”

“Fuck,” you groan, your head tipping back as Daryl presses a kiss to the sweet spot behind your ear, “You make it difficult for a girl to refuse.”

“Then don’t,” Daryl suggests. You hesitate for a moment, thinking things over as Daryl opens the front of your shirt and places kisses to your skin.

“Fine,” you tell him, “But if you so much as flinch, we’re stopping.”

“Deal,” Daryl says. He sits up above you and pulls his shirt off, tossing it to the side. Your clothing follows closely after.

Daryl was right, he could take things very slowly. He takes the time to kiss or caress every inch of you as he undresses you. You shiver as he draws his callused fingertips up your side, leaving goosebumps in their wake. His slow actions are maddening and each one only leaves you craving more.

“I need you, Daryl,” you moan as he places kisses just above the waistband of your jeans. Daryl smirks against your skin, placing one last kiss to your lower abdomen before sitting up above you. He helps you to remove the rest of your clothing before removing his own. The action is awkward in the confined space and you can’t help but laugh as Daryl tears his clothing from himself.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” Daryl says. He sits above you, eyes traveling over your body.

“Stop it,” you laugh, “You’re making me blush.”

“I love when you blush,” Daryl says as he leans down over you, his forearms resting to either side of your head, “I love everything about you.”

“I love you too,” you tell him, brushing his hair back. You slide your arms around him and pull him closer. Daryl twists one of his hands into your hair and captures your lips. “I love you,” you mutter against his lips again and again.

Daryl rocks himself against you, your core aching. Every shift of his hips has him sliding through your dripping folds. “Daryl, please,” you groan, needing to feel him inside you.

“Gotta go slow, remember?” Daryl teases, “Wouldn’t wanna pop my stitches.”

“God, I hate you,” you groan.

“That wasn’t what you said a few minutes ago,” he says with a smirk.

“Oh, shut up and fuck me,” you laugh. Daryl chuckles before capturing your lips again. Reaching between the two of you, Daryl takes hold of his cock and teases you with his tip. “Please,” you groan, his teasing making you needy. You try to be gentle, but you can’t stop yourself from clinging to him. Your fingertips dig into the skin of his shoulder and upper arm, desperate for more.

Daryl finally obliges you. You moan, your back arching, as Daryl pushes into you, filling you inch by throbbing inch. He buries his face into the crook of your neck, groaning as he settles himself inside you. Wrapping your legs around his waist, you draw him deeper into you. You press kisses to his cheek, neck, and shoulder as you adjust to his size.

He rests his forearms to either side of your head for support as he sets an agonizingly slow pace. “Y/N,” he groans as he slides in and out of you, filling you to the hilt with each thrust. You hold him tight, loving the weight of him above you.

You guide his lips to yours, kissing him deeply. Your stomach begins to twist, your walls growing tight around him. Daryl groans against your lips and you hungrily swallow the sound.

“Shit,” you hear a voice say, “Sorry.” Shocked, you break the kiss with Daryl and look up to see Rick standing awkwardly with his back facing the tent. You had been so wrapped up in Daryl that you hadn’t even heard Rick’s footsteps.

“What the Hell?” Daryl asks angrily, looking over his shoulder.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to impose,” Rick says, “I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright. I guess that wasn’t necessary.”

“I’m fine,” Daryl says, “Go away.”

“I - yeah, sorry,” Rick says before leaving. You fall back against the pillows as you begin to laugh.

“Damn intruders,” Daryl grumbles, “Why the Hell are you laughing? Now everybody knows about us.”

“Did you think it was a secret?” you giggle as you card your hand through his hair, “Everyone already knows we’re sleeping together.”

“T-they do?” Daryl asks.

“I think it was pretty obvious when I spent all night in your tent,” you tell him, “Does it matter that they know?”

“No, I guess not,” Daryl grumbles, “I just don’t like people gettin’ in my business.”

“You don’t want people knowin’ you love me,” you surmise.

“No,” Daryl answers, “It’s not that. I’ll go tell them all that I’m in love with you right now if that’s what you want … well, not right now, but you know what I mean.”

“All I want is you,” you tell him. Daryl smiles a crooked smile before leaning down to kiss you again. You run your hands over him, determined to memorize every line of his body. Slowly, his pace begins to pick up. You lift your hips to meet his thrust for thrust, pushing him deep inside you. The two of you fall into a rhythm that has you moaning and writhing. “Daryl,” you moan, your walls beginning to flutter around him.

“Y/N,” he grunts, his cock throbbing and twitching. One of his hands fists in your hair, the other moving down to grasp your hip tightly. Though his thrusts are slow, each one is deliberate. The knot in your stomach tightens to the breaking point as his cock slides against your g-spot again and again. “Love you,” Daryl groans between the kisses he places to your lips, cheeks, neck and chest.

You grip him tighter as your orgasm mounts. Your back arches from the ground as the knot in your stomach snaps. “Daryl,” you moan loudly. Your fingertips dig into his skin as your walls clamp down around him, your body shuddering beneath his.

“Y/N,” Daryl grunts. He captures your lips, moaning against them as you draw him to his high. His cock pulses as he spills himself deep inside you, his muscles tensing beneath your fingertips. You swallow the sounds he makes and encourage him to work himself through his high. “I love you,” Daryl mumbles against your lips, his thrusts slowly coming to an end.

He brushes your hair back behind your ear as he kisses you. The way he acts and looks at you makes you think he feels relieved. It was as if knowing that you love him and admitting his love for you had lifted a weight from him. You hated that he was reluctant to accept your love, but that made you love him all the more.

Daryl pulls himself from you and moves to your side, his arms wrapping around you and holding you close. You curl up against him, your head tucked beneath his chin. “I really do love you, Daryl, you know that right?” you ask him as you trace random patterns against his chest.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever loved me,” Daryl says, his fingers tracing up and down your arm, “I didn’t think I was worth lovin’.”

“Daryl,” you whisper, heartbroken, “You have no clue just how much you deserve to be loved.” You would strive to prove it to him every day of your life if you had to.

“Are we crazy?” he asks, “For feeling like this I mean?”

“Maybe,” you laugh softly, “But that ain’t gonna stop me from lovin’ you.” Daryl chuckles quietly.

“Ain’t nothin’ gonna stop me either,” Daryl promises, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More outcast please? I need more Daryl <3

Warnings: Violence, no smut in this part

Fic:

Chaos, that was the only way to describe it. The barn was on fire, walkers had overrun the farm, and Daryl had disappeared. You found yourself running across the farmyard searching for anyone still living. Your arrows had run out and now your only weapon was a small knife. You swing your bow across your back and clutch your knife tightly, using it to defend yourself as you fight your way towards the RV.

The sound of an engine makes you turn. “Get on,” Daryl shouts as he drives up next to you on his motorcycle. You don’t hesitate. Throwing one leg over the motorcycle, you wrap your arms around Daryl’s waist and clutch at his shirt. You bury your face into the back of Daryl’s shoulder, trying not to look back as Daryl drives, leaving the ruins of your life behind.

***

After about eight months, life on the run had become the new normal. The group was shattered and run down, everyone was tired. Members of your group had died or gone missing. You had nowhere to call home and no definitive goal other than trying to survive. All winter had been wasted trying to find any sort of shelter and the group was close to giving up and moving on. Daryl was the only piece of solace you had.

“Daryl?” you ask groggily as he lies your head back down against the bag you had been using as a pillow.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” Daryl says quietly as he shoulders his crossbow. Dawn is just now breaking, light trickling through the branches and birds chirping.

“Where are you goin’?” you ask him, pushing yourself up from the seat you were lying on.

“On a run,” Daryl answers, “Can’t sit around here no more. Plus we need food and supplies.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you ask him, “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Daryl says, “It’s just me and Rick goin’. I want you to stay here and get some rest. You’ll be safe here for now.”

“Ok, fine,” you grumble as you lay back down, “Have fun with your boyfriend.”

“Rick?” Daryl ask, “Rick ain’t my boyfriend.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that,” you laugh teasingly. Daryl huffs before dropping his gear back down to the floor of the car. He sits on the seat beside you before moving to cage you beneath him.

“Rick ain’t my boyfriend,” Daryl repeats before leaning in and capturing your lips roughly.

“Ok,” you giggle as you run your hands down his chest before fisting them into his shirt, “Point taken. Have fun with Rick on your run.”

“Right,” Daryl grumbles.

“Come back to me in one piece, alright?” you ask him, any trace of teasing gone from your voice, “No bite marks or scratches either.”

“I’ll do my best,” Daryl answers.

“Promise me,” you demand. Daryl doesn’t respond. “Daryl, maybe I should go with you,” you suggest.

“No,” Daryl says, “Last night was the first time you’ve slept in days, I’m not taking you out there and I’m not risking your safety. Not now, and not ever. Go back to sleep, I’ll be back soon and I’ll bring you some food.”

“I love you,” you tell him, reaching up to cup his cheek.

“I love you too,” he responds, leaning into your touch, “And I promise I’ll stay as safe as I can.”

“I guess that’s the best I can ask for,” you say.

“Go back to sleep,” Daryl instructs, “It’s your turn to rest, the others can keep watch.” Daryl kisses you one last time before pushing himself back up and grabbing his supplies. He shuts the door, leaving you alone in the car. You roll onto your side and watch as Daryl leaves, your heart dropping.

You hated being separated from him, hated the not knowing. There was no way you were going back to sleep, not with Daryl on a run. You toss and turn, trying to rest, but finding no peace. Finally you decide to get up; if you were going to be awake, you might as well do something useful.

After being chased out of your most recent shelter by a hoard of walkers, everyone was on edge. There had to be something better out there, some sort of safe haven, all you had to do was find it. “How are you holding up?” Lori asks as she moves to lean against the car that you’re sitting on.

“Me?” you ask, “What about you?” Lori huffs a laugh, her hand resting on her stomach. She was due to give birth any day now.

“Could be worse, could be better,” she shrugs, “Have you ever thought about having one?”

“What, a baby?” you ask. She looks to you and nods. “I mean, no, but I’m not against it. It’s not like we’re actively trying to prevent me from gettin’ pregnant,” you answer.

“And you want Daryl the father?” Lori asks.

“Of course,” you answer, “Who else would I even consider?”

“You really do love him, don’t you?” Lori asks.

“Yeah,” you answer, “Guess I do.”

“That’s good,” Lori says, “For both of you. It’s good to have something, someone, to hold on to in a world like this. I never thought I’d see Daryl the way you make him.”

“I don’t make him anything he wasn’t already,” you protest.

“That’s not what I see,” Lori says, “He’s better with you.”

“Well, I’m better with him too,” you reply. Lori hums.

“I wish Rick and I were still like that,” Lori says quietly. You decide not to press things. If she wanted to talk, she’d talk. 

“How long do you think it’ll take them to get back?” you ask, finally breaking the silence.

“Who knows? This is Rick and Daryl we’re talking about,” Lori tells you, “What I do know is that they’re survivors. They’ll be fine.”

“Daryl better be fine,” you grumble, “Or else I’ll kill him.” A rustle in the bushes makes you draw your arrow, pointing it in the direction of the sound.

“Calm down,” Daryl says as he pushes the bushes down and steps over them, “It’s just me.” You let your aim fall before hopping down from the hood of the car.

“Where’s my food?” you tease him, “You promised, remember?”

“I did promise,” Daryl says as he slings an arm over your shoulder, “But I found you something better.”

“Oh?” you ask, “And what’s better than food?”

“Me,” Daryl answers as if it’s obvious.

“Well you sound oddly upbeat,” you accuse, “What’s going on?”

“Come on,” Daryl says as he guides you towards the rest of the group, “Rick’s got an announcement to make.” when the group is gathered, Rick begins telling everyone about what he and Daryl had found.

“A prison?” Glenn asks.

“It’s better than nothin’,” Maggie says.

“We’ll have to fight for it if we want it,” Rick tells the group, “And I’m not pretending it’ll be easy, but if we do this, we’ll have a place to call our own.”

“A home,” Daryl whispers in your ear as he pulls you closer.

“Never thought I’d want to call prison home,” you mumble.

Eventually the group has a plan for taking over the prison. The plan was to clear the yard first before going inside and taking it over section by section. You’d be in one of the guard towers with Daryl and Carol, picking off walkers as the other group members cleared the yard.

It takes some time for everyone to prepare, but you can feel the excitement. This was the first time you’d been really truly excited about something since the Greene farm had been lost. Cutting open the fence seemed somehow freeing. You run towards one of the guard towers along with Daryl and Carol as the others begin fighting walkers. When you get to the top of the tower, you pull out your rifle and take aim, picking off walkers one by one.

“Sorry,” Carol shouts as one of her shots almost hits Rick. He stops for a moment, looking up at the tower before he snaps out of the shock and continues fighting.

“I’m glad I’m up here and not down there,” you say. Carol blushes and you laugh to show her you’re only teasing her.

“I’m glad you’re up here too,” Daryl says, “I finally get to prove I’m a better shot than you.”

“Good luck with that,” you respond, “We both know I’m better. I’ve proved that over and over again in many ways.”

“Oh?” Carol asks, “In what ways has she proved it, Daryl?”

“We better get back to the group,” Daryl says, avoiding the question.

“It’s pretty romantic up here,” Carol says before making kissy faces at Daryl, “Do you two wanna stay up here and screw around?” You laugh as Daryl makes a ‘pfft’ sound.

“Come on,” Daryl says as he turns towards the stairs, “I’ll go down first.”

“Even better,” both you and Carol say at the same time. Daryl turns beet red, making both you and Carol laugh. He makes his way grumpily down the stairs with you and Carol following behind, teasing him the whole way.

“Stop,” Daryl grumbles, only making you and Carol laugh harder. Teasing Daryl had become a pastime of yours and Carol’s. It gave you something to laugh about, even when times were hard.

Before long, the courtyard is cleared. Rick convinces the group to settle in for the night. In the morning, you’d explore the prison further. From what you’d noticed, all of the walkers were either prisoners or guards. Rick seemed to think that it meant the prison had fallen early and that there might be food, supplies, and weapons inside.

“Brought you some food like I promised,” Daryl says, handing you a plate. It was nearly empty, but it was better than nothing.

“Do you think we can really make this a home?” you ask Daryl as he takes a seat on the ground beside you.

“I think we can try,” Daryl answers.

“You really are upbeat today,” you say, leaning towards him as he wraps an arm around your shoulders.

“Think I’ve been that way ever since you told me you loved me,” Daryl says, “Bein’ with you makes things better somehow.”

“Bein’ with you does the same for me,” you tell him. Daryl leans down and places a kiss to the top of your head before pulling you tighter to his side.

“Eat up,” Daryl tells you, “And get some rest. By tomorrow we’ll have a prison cell of our own.”

“And we both know we won’t be gettin’ any rest at that point,” you tease.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love outcast, please write more! I love you!!! AND Please more outcast <3 AND 3 others

Warnings: Reader’s life is threatened, language, smut

Fic:

“Take your goddamned hands off her,” Daryl shouts. The prison hadn’t been filled with only the dead, and now one of them was holding you hostage.

“If you don’t put down that crossbow, her pretty little throat’s gonna be painted red,” the prisoner tells Daryl. One of the man’s arms is wrapped around your neck, his other hand holds a knife to your skin, the point poised to pierce your throat. You grasp at the man’s arm as panic seizes you, fearing that this is the end. Daryl looks conflicted. You can tell all he wants to do is loose a bolt into the man’s head, but he doesn’t want you in the crossfire. Reluctantly, he drops his aim.

“No one’s gonna hurt you,” Rick tries to reason, “Just let the girl go and we’ll leave you be.” You knew it was pointless, there was no reasoning with a man like this.

“Says the man who just claimed to own this prison,” the man says, “How did you put it? It’s yours, you spilled blood for it. Why would you be so willing to leave it now?”

“If it saves one of my people, I’m willing to back down,” Rick says.

“Tomas, maybe we should let her go,” one of the other prisoners says.

“Look, we can both live here without ever having to see each other,” Rick continues, “Let her go and we’ll help you clear out a cell block of your own. We can split the food and supplies fifty fifty and we’ll never see each other again.” Tomas hesitates before finally letting his grip on you loosen. You stumble as he shoves you forward and Daryl drops his crossbow in order to catch you.

“Fine,” Tomas says, “We have a deal.”

***

“This is bullshit,” Daryl grumbles as he watches Rick handing out weapons to the five prisoners who had held you hostage, “Hershel lost his leg, you almost lost your life, and now Rick wants to help these assholes?”

“Daryl, it’s ok,” you say as you place your hand on his shoulder and try to soothe him.

“No, Y/N, it’s not ok,” Daryl protests angrily, “That man almost killed you, would’ve too if Rick hadn’t offered that deal. You know I can’t lose you.”

“You didn’t lose me,” you tell him gently.

“Y/N, how are you ok with this?” Daryl asks, “Those people threatened your life. How can you be ok with helping them?”

“I’m not exactly ok with it, but I’d rather have some sort of peace with them than a war,” you answer.

“They’re five people,” Daryl protests, “We outnumber them. Killin’ them wouldn’t be hard.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” you tell him, “Killin’ them would be easy, but killin’ people should be difficult. If takin’ a life is easy, then what kind of person are you?”

“So you’d rather risk your life and let them live than kill them and be that much safer?” Daryl asks.

“Give them one chance,” you press, “Everyone deserves that.”

“They had their chance and they almost killed you,” Daryl retorts.

“One of them almost killed me, not all of them,” you reply, “Besides, I gave you a chance and look where we are now.”

“You better not wind up in bed with any of them,” Daryl grumbles.

“Why?” you ask, “Would you be jealous?”

“Very,” Daryl answers. He wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you into his lap. “You’re mine,” Daryl says, “And I’m never letting you go.”

“Well, lucky for you, I’m not interested in anyone else. I’m all yours,” you tell him, placing a quick kiss to his cheek, “Come on, let’s go get these assholes their own cellblock.”

“I don’t trust them,” Daryl tells you as you move from his lap and tug his hand.

“Good, neither do I,” you reply.

“I don’t want them near you,” Daryl continues.

“Well, I’m goin’ with you guys, so don’t try to stop me,” you respond.

“I’m not gonna stop you if you’re determined to do this,” Daryl says, “But I want you by my side at all times. If another one of those assholes so much as lays a finger on you, I’ll tear their throat out.”

“You’re so cute when you get all protective like that,” you laugh.

“I’m not cute,” Daryl grumbles as you lead him towards the group. The plan was for Rick, T-Dog, Daryl, and you to take out walkers while the prisoners held a door closed so that only so many walkers could get into a secured area at a time. You could tell that some of the prisoners didn’t like this idea, but in your mind, they had no right to complain.

“Let’s go,” Rick instructs.

“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we never have to see them again,” T-Dog adds.

“Good,” you and Daryl both grumble. Daryl places a hand on your shoulder and moves around you, placing himself between you and the prisoners. He was going to protect you at all costs, even if that put him in danger.

Your group had already cleared out a cell block for themselves. Now they were cleaning it up and claiming rooms. “Hey!” you shout, pointing to a cell on the second floor, “That one’s mine, I call dibs. It better be empty when I get back.”

“Why that one?” Daryl asks.

“Because it’s secluded and not a total mess,” you answer quietly, “Though we can mess it up later if you want.” Daryl smiles slyly and T-Dog huffs, rolling his eyes.

As you walk down the hall, Daryl whispers in your ear, telling you all the things he’s going to do to you later. At one point, he’s actually got you blushing. The banter ends, however, when you hear chains rattling. The doors down the hall are chained together and the walkers behind them are struggling to push them open.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” one of the prisoners asks.

“If you follow the plain, everything will be fine,” Rick assures them. It takes a minute for them to get the door open, but once they do, they struggle to hold the door closed. “Ok,” Rick begins, “Everyone ready?” When he’s got the go ahead from everyone, he tells the prisoners to open the doors.

Walkers begin pouring through the open doors and the prisoners struggle to close them back. Daryl instantly springs into action and you follow close behind. You’d both opted for knives instead of your usual weapons, they would be more useful in the confined space.

Your group works as a cohesive unit, systematically taking out the group of walkers that had been let into the room. The prisoners, however, can’t seem to keep things together. One of them screams, drawing your attention. A walker had left scratches down the man’s back and you knew he was done for. Panic breaks out among the prisoners. You couldn’t be sure with all of the commotion going on, but it almost looked like Tomas was trying to assassinate Rick.

“Y/N, move!” Daryl shouts. The next thing you know, you feel a set of cold hands on your arm. Turning, you scream as you see a walker poised to bite you. You try to pull your arm away, but can’t get free. Panic floods your body and you can’t seem to think. Daryl’s knife appears through the walker’s head and he pushes it to the ground. “Move!” Daryl demands again. He places a hand on your chest and pushes you towards the wall, hiding you behind him.

“We need to fall back,” Rick commands. Daryl grabs your hand and drags you down the hall through the next door. When everyone has made it through the door, Rick and T-Dog bar it, locking the walkers in. “What the Hell happened back there?” Rick shouts. As they talk, Daryl wraps your shaking body up in his arms, trying to soothe and comfort you.

“Big Tiny’s been scratched,” Tomas says angrily, “Fix him like you did that old man.”

“I can’t,” Rick says.

“We’ll why the fuck not?” Tomas shouts.

“It’s not the same,” Rick tries to explain, “Hershel was bitten on the leg, a limb that I could cut off. Those scratches are on his shoulder, I can’t exactly cut that off.”

“So he’s as good as dead,” Tomas summarizes. In an instant, Tomas is stabbing Big Tiny over and over again, making sure he’s dead. Daryl pulls your face towards his shoulder, keeping you from seeing the violence.

The noises stop after a loud crunch. Turning back to the prisoners, you find Rick’s machete lodged in Thomas’ head. One of the other prisoners instantly runs at Rick and Rick doesn’t hesitate to kill the man.

“Look, we didn’t know anythin’ bout this,” one of the remaining prisoners says. He drops his weapon and holds up his hands in surrender, the other prisoner doing the same.

“Rick, I’m takin’ her back to the cell,” Daryl says. You’re still shaking and even though you know you’re no longer in danger, you can’t stop. Rick nods and Daryl begins leading you back towards the cellblock.

Once you’ve reached the space, the other members of your group watch as Daryl leads you up the stairs to the cell you’d chosen earlier. He gives them dirty looks and they instantly turn away. “Daryl, it’s ok,” you say, your voice shaky, “They’re just curious.”

“No, it ain’t ok,” Daryl says as he sits you down on the edge of the bed. He grabs a sheet and hangs it across the front of the cell, giving you a small amount of privacy. “I almost lost you twice today, how the Hell is that ok?” he asks, “Do you know how scared I was? I ain’t never been so scared in my life.” He was angry and you couldn’t help but feel like he was angry with you.

“I’m sorry,” you say quietly, placing your hands in your lap and looking down at them, “I know I messed up, I didn’t mean to cause any problems.”

“Y/N,” Daryl says gently as he moves to sit beside you and wrap you up in his arms, “I don’t blame you, you know that right?”

“It was my fault,” you say, “I put myself in that situation and let myself get distracted.”

“I don’t blame you,” Daryl assures, “It’s those damn prisoners I blame. One of them almost kills you and then one of them almost gets you killed. I knew they couldn’t be trusted.” He pulls your head to his chest and runs his hand through your hair.

“I’m still sorry,” you tell him.

“For what?” he asks.

“For scaring you,” you answer.

“Yeah, well don’t do it again,” Daryl says, “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, I can’t lose you.” He holds you to him as he presses kisses to the top of your head, soothing you. Eventually, you stop shaking and are able to relax in Daryl’s arms. “Seeing you like that today, both times, it almost killed me,” Daryl continues, “I never thought I could care that much about anything.”

“I love you, Daryl,” you say, clinging to him.

“I love you too,” he says, cupping your cheek and raising your gaze to meet his. His thumb traces your cheekbone before he leans in to capture your lips. Reaching up, you thread your hand into his hair and deepen the kiss. Daryl pulls you tighter against him and he hums as you move to straddle his lap. “Y/N, are you sure you want to do this now?” he asks you.

“We’ve got our cell,” you reply between kisses, “I think we need to break it in.”

“You almost died twice today,” Daryl reminds you, “How are you already over it?”

“I’m not,” you answer, “Not really, but this is the world we live in now. I need something to distract me, I need you to distract me. Please, Daryl, help me forget, just for a little while.” Daryl cups your face between his hands and rests his forehead against yours. “Daryl, please,” you whisper. He nods and swallows thickly before capturing your lips in a passionate kiss.

Daryl’s attachment to you seemed to surprise others in the beginning. They were surprised by how loving he had become, but it hadn’t surprised you one bit. As much as he had tried to act like an outsider, like he didn’t care, you knew wasn’t and that he did. He just needed someone to give him a chance and that’s what you’d done.

His hands slide along your body as he begins undressing you, his callused fingertips tracing random patterns against your skin. You break the kiss and nestle your face into the crook of his neck, kissing his skin as you unbutton his shirt. Daryl’s lips begin exploring your body, pressing butterfly kisses along your collarbone before moving to take one of your nipples between them. You arch your back towards him as you card your hand through his hair. Daryl hums, his hands splaying across your back as he holds you closer.

“Promise you won’t leave me,” Daryl requests between kisses, looking up at you with saddened eyes.

“I’ll try,” you answer. Daryl pushes you back and cups your cheek in his hand.

“Promise,” he demands, “I can’t go through that.”

“I promise,” you answer, heartbroken by the emptiness of it. Daryl captures your lips again and as he does, he lifts you and turns you to lie on the bed. The mattress is hard and uncomfortable, and the pillows are flat, but it’s better than nothing and you had Daryl here. He was all you really needed.

Daryl moves to kneel between your legs, his head almost hitting the top bunk. He pulls your shoes and socks from your feet, tossing them to the side before opening the front of your pants. You lift your hips as he removes your pants and panties, the material joining the rest of your clothing on the floor. Before long, Daryl has himself undressed as well. He moves to cover your body with his, caging you beneath him. You run your hands along his body until his hands capture yours.

“I love you,” Daryl tells you as he intertwines his fingers with yours, pushing your hands back against the pillows to either side of your head, “And I’m never letting you go, I promise.”

“Good,” you say, squeezing his hands, “I don’t want you to.”

Daryl leans down and presses kisses against your neck. His hips rock against you lightly, his hard cock pressing against your core. You whisper your love for him over and over again, telling him you want and need him. Daryl repositions his hips, lining himself up with your entrance. You let your eyes fall shut and your head tip back as Daryl sinks into you, filling you to the hilt. Your lips part as he stretches you and a moan threatens to escape your lips, but you hold it back, not wanting to be too loud.

“Y/N,” Daryl whispers as he nestles his face into the crook of your neck. His teeth graze your skin and you can tell he’s trying to keep himself from being too loud as well. The bed creaks as Daryl pulls back and thrusts into you again. You disentangle one of your hands from his and press it to his back, burying your face into his shoulder in an attempt to muffle your moans and whimpers. Daryl’s free hand tangles into your hair as he sets an agonizingly slow pace.

“Daryl,” you mutter, his gentle, loving thrusts driving you mad.

“I know,” Daryl whispers. He tries to pick up the pace, but it only makes the bed creak louder. “Damn it,” Daryl groans, returning to his former pace. You can’t help but giggle at his frustration. “What’er you laughin’ at?” Daryl asks.

“You of course,” you answer playfully.

“Yeah?” Daryl asks, “Just wait till I get you alone in some secluded part of this prison; maybe the guard tower like Carol was talkin’ ‘bout. Then we’ll see who’s laughing.”

“Mmm, Daryl,” you hum, “I’m not sure if that’s a promise or a threat, but either way, I like it.” Daryl huffs a laugh before capturing your lips. You both help to muffle the other’s moans and groans as Daryl works you higher and higher. Each move of him inside you has him hitting your g-spot and it doesn’t take much longer for the knot in your stomach to reach the breaking point.

“Y/N,” Daryl groans against your lips. His cock twitches and throbs against your walls as they tighten around him. Both of you are on the edge and you knew it wouldn’t be much longer. You wrap one of your legs around his waist, drawing him deeper into you as you both near your ends.

“Daryl … Daryl, please,” you mutter. You squeeze his hand tight as your orgasm mounts, the fingertips of your other hand digging into the skin of his shoulder. Daryl delivers one last thrust that sends you spiraling over the edge. “Daryl!” you gasp as the knot in your stomach snaps. Daryl thrusts his tongue into your mouth, quieting your moans as your walls clamp down around him. You clutch at him as your body shudders in pleasure.

It isn’t long before Daryl follows you. He hums against your lips as his cock pulses, spilling himself deep inside you. You swallow the sounds he makes as his hips buck, working you both through your highs. “Fuck, Daryl,” you mutter. Daryl huffs a laugh, smiling blissfully against your lips. He stays above you for a moment, his forehead pressed to yours as you both recover from your highs. “I love you,” you tell him, carding your free hand through his hair.

“Love you too,” Daryl replies. He captures your lips as he pulls himself from you and moves to your side. The small bed doesn’t afford you much space and you find yourself snuggled right up against him, not that you minded. Daryl’s arms wrap around you as he pulls you up against his chest. “Let’s stay like this for awhile,” Daryl suggests.

“I didn’t plan on goin’ anywhere,” you tell him as you trace random patterns across his chest and down his arm.

“No, I mean let’s stay here, in this prison for awhile,” Daryl adds, “No runs or helpin’ people. Just for a little while. I want things to be ‘bout us for a few days. All I wanna think ‘bout is you.”

“Daryl, that’s sweet, but we’ve got a whole group to think ‘bout,” you say.

“Yeah, well we aren’t the leaders of this group, Rick is,” Daryl says, “If they need somethin’ they’ll ask. Until then, I want to spend my time with you, and only you.”

You hum, thinking it over for a minute before answering, “Sounds good to me.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Outcast plz! AND Could I have more outcast? Maybe hints about them getting married? Or what about a baby?

Warnings: Violence, mention of smut, character death

Fic:

“Hell no,” Daryl says as the prisoners plead their case. Axel and Oscar were desperate to become part of the group and even though they didn’t seem as bad as the others, Daryl wasn’t having it. T-Dog on the other hand, seemed all for letting the prisoners join the group.

“We could use two extra sets of hands,” T-Dog reasons.

“Two sets of hands that tried to kill Y/N? I don’t think so,” Daryl retorts. As you had predicted, your alone time with Daryl hadn’t lasted long. Circumstances had drawn you back into spending time with the group rather than spending the time alone with Daryl.

“We had no part in trying to hurt your wife,” Oscar says, “That was Tomas.”

“You didn’t try to stop him either,” Daryl protests. You notice Daryl didn’t correct Oscar’s mistake in believing that you were his wife.

“We can be helpful,” Axel offers, “I can help you tune up your bike.” Daryl narrows his eyes and huffs before taking hold of your hand and stalking away.

“Daryl, they’re not that bad,” you say quietly as you follow after him.

“Don’t trust ‘em,” Daryl grumbles.

“I know this isn’t how you planned on spendin’ the day, but do you wanna go do some cleaning up?” you ask him, “We could help Rick and Glenn clear out the rest of the prison if there’s anything left to kill.”

“Better’n doin’ nothin’ I guess,” he mumbles. You tug his hand and guide him to where Glenn and Rick were working to make the prison safe. Lori waves at you as you walk by and since you don’t have a free hand, you raise your bow in return. You can’t help but smile as you see Hershel up and about. He was recovering well, and Beth and Lori were helping him learn to use crutches.

“I bet I can take down more than you can,” you tease.

“We’ll see ‘bout that,” Daryl says, seeming to perk up a little, “What do I get when I win?”

“Well, if you win, and that’s a big if, I’ll suck your cock,” you tell him boldly. Daryl stops in his tracks, his eyes going wide and his cheeks turning pink. “Did I embarrass you?” you ask him, “It’s not like I haven’t sucked your dick before.”

“You want everybody hearin’ what we do in our free time?” Daryl asks in return. You shrug.

“It ain’t like they don’t know,” you tell him, “Unless you’re afraid it’ll make your boyfriend jealous.”

“How many times I gotta tell you?” Daryl asks as he grabs you and pulls you to him, “Rick ain’t my boyfriend.” He captures your lips in a rough kiss.

“But I’m your wife?” you ask him, breaking the kiss.

“What do you mean?” he asks in return.

“Oscar called me your wife and you didn’t correct him,” you answer.

“Didn’t see the point in it,” Daryl shrugs, “Why? You wanna be my wife or somethin’?”

“Why don’t you ask me sometime and find out?” you ask him playfully before slipping out of his arms.

“Wait, are you -” he begins as he chases after you, “Y/N, wait!”

“Hey, Rick, mind if Daryl and I help out?” you ask him as you meet him by the fence.

“We could use the help,” Rick says. Glenn agrees. At this point, they were focused on cleaning up the bodies that were scattered around the prison yard. You can’t help but notice that they both seem distracted. Following Rick’s gaze, you see Lori looking back at him. Blushing, she looks away. You’d bet almost anything that Glenn was thinking about Maggie.

“Y/N, what did you mean?” Daryl asks you as you prop your bow and quiver against the fence.

“‘Bout what?” you ask as if you had no clue what he was talking about.

“‘Bout marryin’ me,” he answers, “If I asked you right now, is that what you want?”

“Well that’s hardly a proposal,” you tease, “Where’s my ring?”

“If I had a ring?” he presses.

“If you had a ring and proposed, I guess you’d get your answer,” you tell him playfully. The two of you place the body you were carrying down outside the fence before heading back for another.

“Y/N, I’m serious, I -” his words are cut off by the sound of gunfire, “Shit.”

Both of you run towards the sound only to find the yard overrun with walkers. You try to run for your bow and arrows, but Daryl holds you back. Walkers had already surrounded the area and it was too dangerous for you to get your weapon. Instead, you run to join Rick and Glenn in the fight.

The rest of the group scatters. Maggie, Lori, and Carl run back into the cellblock. Beth and Hershel lock themselves inside a secure area in the fence. Carol and T-Dog are nowhere to be seen. You fight back to back with Daryl, protecting each other. Before long, you and the boys have the situation under control.

“Someone cut the fence,” Glenn announces.

“Bet I know who,” Daryl grumbles, “Speak of the devil.” Oscar and Axel approach, offering their assistance, and Rick automatically accuses them for the cut fence. Both men assure that they had nothing to do with it, but Rick obviously doesn’t believe them.

The fighting continues, that is until the sound of the prison alarm echoes through the yard. The alarm only helps attract more walkers to the fence and potentially into the prison. “Look, it must be the prison’s backup generators coming online,” Oscar says, “It’s not us doing this. How could we make the generator start when we’re standing right here?” He had a point. Eventually, Rick decides to split the group, sending everyone out to look for the others while he went to turn off the generator.

“Daryl, I’m coming with you,” you demand, even though Rick had instructed you to go with Glenn.

“No,” Daryl says, “Do what Rick says, help Glenn find Maggie and Lori and the others.” You hesitate, not wanting to leave Daryl’s side. “I’ll be fine,” Daryl says, placing a quick kiss to your lips before pulling away, “Stay safe.”

You watch as he turns to follow Rick into the prison. “Let’s go,” Glenn shouts, bringing you back to reality. You nod before running to grab your bow and arrows. Slinging your quiver across your back, you grab an arrow and notch it in your bow, ready to shoot if you need to.

Running back into the cellblock, you and Glenn search room after room, looking for the others. “Finally,” you grumble as the alarm eventually shuts off. You hoped that meant Daryl was ok. You spot two walkers in the hallway and quickly take them down. “Oh, God,” you whisper as you finally find one of your group members.

“What is it?” Glenn asks.

“It - it’s T-Dog,” you whisper.

“Shit,” Glenn whispers, as he stops just behind you. You can feel the tears welling in your eyes. Your group had already lost Sophia, Shane, Andrea, and Dale among others. Losing T-Dog was another blow.

“Y/N, Glenn, is that you?” you hear Rick call.

“Yeah, it’s us,” Glenn answers. Rick rounds the corner with Daryl and the prisoners in tow. The group stops in their tracks as they find T-Dog’s remains. Your heart drops even further as you spot Carol’s scarf dangling from Daryl’s hand. If this had happened to T-Dog, what had happened to Carol?

After taking a moment to process, the group heads back out to the yard to reunite with Beth and Hershel. “We need to find the rest of the group,” Rick says, “If we split up, it’ll be easier to find them.” Rick continues to lay out plans for finding the others until a baby’s cry rings out.

Turning, Rick finds Maggie and Carl emerging from the prison, a baby in Maggie’s arms. Both of them are crying. You wait for Lori to appear, hoping against hope that she would, but she never does. Rick breaks down, dropping to his knees and crying for the wife he’d lost.

Glenn moves to take Maggie in his arms, consoling her. Carl stands still, his head hung low. You run to him, dropping to your knees before him and pulling him into a hug. “I’m sorry, Carl,” you tell him. He doesn’t answer, doesn’t even move. Pulling away, you cup his cheek and wipe away his tears, but he turns his head away. “I’m so sorry,” you repeat.

“You can’t be sorry,” Carl says, “You don’t even know what happened.” He turns and walks away, leaving you on your own. Daryl moves to your side and helps you from the ground, pulling you to him. You bury your face into his chest as you let your tears fall free.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can you please continue Outcast? It’s amazing!! AND I can’t live without more Outcast, please do more! You’re amazing! AND 4 others

Warnings: Angst, smut, language

Fic:

Still reeling with grief, Rick grabs his axe and heads back into the prison, leaving the rest of the group behind. “The baby’s healthy,” Hershel says, drawing your attention, “But she needs formula.” You wipe your tears away, determined to focus on what would come next.

“We’ll go,” Daryl volunteers. You nod in agreement.

“Ok,” Hershel says, “Bring back any supplies you can find. Every little bit helps.”

Daryl places a kiss to the top of your head before heading towards his motorcycle. He hops on and you take your place behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist. Daryl brings the engine to life, the roaring sound somehow comforting. “Hold on,” Daryl instructs. You do as he says, fisting your hands into his shirt as he begins to drive off. Glenn and Maggie open the gates for you, wishing you luck before you leave.

Tears begin to well in your eyes again and you fight to hold them back. Even with all of the bad in the world, there was still hope. That little baby girl proved it. Death surrounded you, but there was still life, a reason to fight. You could only hope that you wouldn’t lose Daryl as suddenly as Rick lost Lori.

As Daryl drives, you happen to spot an abandoned day care center. “There!” you shout, tapping Daryl on the shoulder before pointing to the building. Daryl pulls into the parking lot and cuts off the engine.

“Y/N,” Daryl begins as you get off the bike, “I wish I knew what to say to make things better.”

“I’m not sure there’s anything you can say,” you tell him. Daryl watches as you head towards the abandoned building. You pull your bow from your shoulder and grab an arrow, notching it.

“Wait,” Daryl says, chasing after you. He grabs your upper arm, making you turn to face him. “I feel like we need to talk or somethin’,” Daryl says.

“‘Bout what?” you ask him.

“Us,” Daryl answers, “You were teasin’ me ‘bout askin’ you to marry me. Did you mean it?”

“Daryl, I don’t wanna talk about that now,” you tell him, “We’ll talk later. We’ve got a baby to feed, remember?”

“Yeah, sure,” Daryl replies quietly, “Later.” His hand slips from your shoulder, letting you turn back towards the day care. With your arrow drawn, you head into the building checking for walkers. A noise sounds from one of the unchecked rooms and Daryl taps your shoulder to get your attention. He holds two fingers to his lips, signing to be quiet before he presses ahead to investigate the noise.

The sound is coming from inside a cabinet in the kitchen and you move to stand beside the door. Daryl raises his crossbow as you place your hand on the handle. You wait for him to nod before pulling the door open. There’s a loud hiss before Daryl pulls the trigger of his weapon, sending a bolt flying.

“Possum?” you ask, looking inside to find the dead animal.

“Dinner,” Daryl corrects.

“Nicely done,” you praise, earning a smile from him.

“Well, we’ve got food for us, let’s find some for the baby too,” he says, trying to get back to the purpose of the mission. Daryl grabs the possum as you begin opening cabinets, searching for bottles and formula. “I’m gonna go find a bag or somethin’,” Daryl says before disappearing.

You gather all the bottles and formula you can find, placing it on the counter. “Daryl?” you call. There’s no response. “Daryl, where are you?” you call again. When he doesn’t answer, you begin to worry. You pull your knife from its sheath and head down the hall. Turning a corner, you find Daryl staring at the wall, his crossbow and the possum held loosely in his hand, a diaper bag slung over his shoulder. Walking up to him, you place a hand on his shoulder.

“I should’ve done more,” Daryl whispers. Following his gaze, you find a picture, the name ‘Sophie’ scribbled in the corner.

“You did everything you could,” you tell him.

“It wasn’t enough,” Daryl adds.

“What happened to Sophia wasn’t your fault,” you assure him as you cup his cheek and bring his gaze to yours, “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. You did more for that little girl than anyone else.”

“But I couldn’t save her,” Daryl says, “What if one day, it’s you in her place and I can’t save you? What if - what if I lose you?”

“Daryl,” you say gently, “That won’t happen.”

“It could,” he whispers, “It happened to Rick.”

“It won’t,” you repeat, “We’re not leaving each other, remember?” You guide his lips to yours, but he’s slow to react.

“I don’t wanna lose you,” Daryl says, pulling away from you.

“You won’t,” you assure him. Daryl looks you in the eye for a moment before pulling you to him and burying his face into the crook of your neck.

“I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you too,” you mutter back, wrapping your arms around him. He holds you for a long time, the only thing you hear is the sound of your breathing and his.

“We should be getting back,” Daryl says, “Baby’s probably already hungry.” Nodding, you pull away, taking his free hand in yours and guiding him back to the kitchen. “I found this,” Daryl says, letting the bag fall from his shoulder, “It’s not much.” Opening it, you find some diapers and other supplies.

“This is great, Daryl,” you tell him. You fill the bag with the bottles and formula you’d found before zipping it back up. “Let’s go,” you say, nodding your head towards the door.

Daryl follows you to his bike and hops on. You sling your bow over your back and the bag onto your shoulder before getting on the bike behind Daryl. He revs the engine as you wrap your arms around his waist, holding on as he speeds back towards the prison.

The ride back seems more hopeful. Maybe things would get better. If the group could clear out the prison and make it safe, you would have a permanent home. You wouldn’t just be surviving, you’d be living. Daryl still seemed to want to talk about having a life together, and you were hopeful that something could come from it.

Pulling back into the prison yard, Daryl cuts off the engine and helps you from the bike. Both of you rush into the cell block with the supplies. “Where is she?” you ask as Daryl takes the supplies in order to make a bottle of milk.

“Right here,” Maggie says, rocking the baby in her arms, “Did you find anything?”

“Yeah,” you answer. Maggie smiles sadly as she holds out the baby to you. “Oh, I’m not sure -” you begin.

“Hold her,” Maggie insists. Reluctantly, you take the tiny baby into your arms. “She’s cute, isn’t she?” Maggie asks, “Almost makes me want one of my own.”

“Yeah, almost,” you respond quietly. You’d thought about it before, but holding this baby in your arms made you want to have a family with Daryl more than ever. “Oh no,” you say as the baby begins to cry. You rock her, trying to soothe her, but it doesn’t work.

“Here,” Daryl says as he reappears in the room. You hand the baby to him and he gives her the bottle he’d made, rocking her back and forth. Your heart melts at the sight, at the thought of the kind of father Daryl would be. Seeing him like this only made you imagine what you could have. “She got a name?” Daryl asks.

“Not yet,” Carl answers, explaining how they’d considered naming her after one of the group members you’d lost.

“How ‘bout lil’ ass kicker?” Daryl asks, making most of the group laugh. Daryl looks up from the baby, his eyes landing on you, a smile on his lips.

After some time, the group disperses. Everyone needed time to themselves in order to process the loss the group had suffered. Daryl keeps the baby to himself, trying to rock her to sleep, but she refuses. She wraps her tiny hand around Daryl’s finger and coos, making him smile. “We could have one of our own, you know,” you say softly as you move to sit beside him.

“No,” Daryl says firmly, the smile falling from his lips.

“Why not?” you ask, “Look at you, you’d be a great father.”

“Don’t matter what kind of father I’d be, not if I lost you,” Daryl tells you, “All this talk ‘bout gettin’ married and havin’ kids, what’s gotten into you lately?”

“Other than the fact that I’ve almost died several times in the past few days?” you ask, “I wanna do somethin’, bring somethin’ good into this world before I leave it.”

“That’s the thing,” Daryl sighs, “I almost lost you and I can’t put you in any more danger. I can’t lose you the way Rick lost Lori. We should’ve been more careful from the start, I didn’t realize it ‘til now, didn’t even think ‘bout it. Y/N, if I got you pregnant and you died because of it, I’d never be able to live with myself.”

“Yes you would,” you correct him, “Cos you’d have a baby to look after. Besides, we’ve got a home now, and Hershel’s a doctor. Gettin’ pregnant wouldn’t be as dangerous here as it was when we were on the run.”

“So what? We play house in our prison cell?” Daryl asks.

“Forget I said anything,” you tell him. You stand and head back towards your cell.

“Y/N, wait,” Daryl calls after you, but you keep heading up the stairs. Daryl grumbles, handing the baby off to Hershel before chasing after you. “Y/N,” Daryl repeats as he catches up to you, his hand falling on your upper arm, “Look, this life you’re talkin’ ‘bout, I want that, all of it, but I’m afraid. I’ve never felt this way ‘bout anyone before and I’ve never felt the kind of love that you give me. You’ve got no clue how afraid I am of losin’ that, of losin’ you. You want a family, and Hell, I want one too, but I need time. Please.”

“I understand,” you tell him, “But I don’t wanna miss out on livin’ my life because it’s the apocalypse or because somethin’ bad happened to someone else.”

“I love you, Y/N,” Daryl says, his hand cupping your cheek as his other arm wraps around your waist and pulls you close, “And I wanna give you everythin’ I could ever give you. I just want things to settle down first. I wanna know that we’re really safe here, that any kids we had would be safe here.”

“I guess you’ve got a point,” you admit, “And if we really are safe, then I guess there’s no harm in waitin’. It’s just, Lori asked me ‘bout it a couple of days ago and it put the idea in my head.”

“You really wanna have a baby … with me?” Daryl asks, “You haven’t even told me if you really wanted to marry me or not.”

“Yeah,” you answer, “Who else? I love you, Daryl, more than anythin’, but I’m still watin’ on that ring.” Daryl huffs before pushing you backward and guiding you to your cell. He pulls the sheet down in front of the bars, giving you a small amount of privacy. You gasp as he pushes you up against the wall, his hands trailing roughly down your body.

“I love you,” Daryl growls. Leaning in, he places rough kisses to your neck. “I need you,” he mumbles against your skin, “Need you to distract me.”

You can tell he’s hurting. It was evident in his eyes, in the way he held you as if his life depended on it. “Need you too,” you mutter, grasping at his clothing and trying to pull him closer. You knew it wouldn’t erase the terrible events that had happened, or the pain you felt, but you needed Daryl.

Daryl’s hands slip beneath your shirt, his rough hands sliding against your skin and sending shivers through your body. His lips meet yours, tongue begging entrance to your mouth as his hips press against you. Reaching up, you thread one of your hands into his hair as you unbutton his shirt with your other hand. You run your hand down his bare chest before reaching for the button of his pants. Daryl breaks the kiss long enough to pull your shirt over your head and shrug his vest and shirt from his shoulders. He reaches behind you, unhooking your bra as you open the front of his pants.

“Wait,” Daryl says as he catches your wrists, trying to keep you from pushing down his pants and boxers.

“When did you find the time to get that?” you ask him as he pulls a condom from his pocket.

“Got ‘em from Glenn,” Daryl tells you.

“More than one, huh?” you tease.

“Figured it wouldn’t take us long to go through ‘em,” Daryl reasons, “So I took plenty.”

“I love you,” you laugh. Daryl smiles before capturing your lips again. Reaching down, he opens the front of your pants. You kick off your shoes as he pushes down your pants and panties.

“Love you too,” Daryl replies. He lets you push down his jeans and boxers as he opens the condom. He rolls the condom over his length before lifting your leg to wrap around his waist. You moan as he grinds himself against you, hard cock sliding through your slick folds.

“Daryl,” you moan, your head tipping back against the wall behind you. His hand slides around to the back of your thigh, keeping your leg wrapped high around his waist. Daryl’s other hand finds the nape of your neck, coaxing your head away from the wall and bringing your lips to his. You twist your hands into his hair, each roll of his hips making you moan and whimper.

“Shhh,” Daryl shushes you, “The others will hear.” You hum against his lips, trying to hold back the other sounds that threatened to escape your lips. Daryl shifts his hips, groaning softly as he sinks into you, filling you to the hilt. You whisper his name over and over again like a prayer as he sets a slow pace. Closing your eyes, you let him consume you, letting the events of the day wash away, if only for a moment. “I love you, Y/N,” Daryl repeats again and again, losing himself to you just as you were losing yourself to him.

Daryl’s thrusts become rougher, his need evident. His fingertips dig into the skin of your thigh. “I love you,” you whisper for him, hands clutching at him as you desperately try to pull him closer. Your stomach twists and knots as he moves inside you. You gasp and moan softly as his cock twitches inside you. “Fuck,” you whisper. Daryl buries his face into the crook of your neck, teeth nipping at the skin between rough kisses.

You gasp again as Daryl drives into you, hitting your g-spot perfectly. His rhythm falters, becoming more and more erratic. Each thrust draws you closer and closer to the edge, the knot in your stomach growing tighter. You dig your fingers into the skin of his shoulders, holding on as Daryl brings you to your end.

“Daryl,” you moan, burying your face in the crook of his neck as you try to muffle the sound. Daryl cups your cheek, bringing your lips to his as he comes undone. His cock pulses inside you as your walls clamp down around him. Daryl’s hips buck as he spills himself into the condom, working you both through your highs.

“Y/N,” he whispers against your lips, his hand carding through your hair. He rests his forehead against yours, eyes closed, as you both begin to recover. “Things will get better,” he promises, sounding more optimistic than usual.

“I hope you’re right,” you reply.

“They will,” Daryl assures, “I’ll make sure of it.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requests: Please continue Outcast, Daryl needs more love! AND I love your outcast fic, Daryl is life! AND Please, please, please could you add to your daryl fic. I really love the series and I want to see Daryl and the reader’s relationship progress. Thank you for all of your writing and I just want you to know that I (and so many others) love you <3

Warnings: Fighting between Daryl and Reader, hunting/mention of killing animals, language, smut

Fic:

“Ready to go?” Glenn asks you.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” you answer, “Good morning, Maggie, sleep much last night?”

“No,” she answers, her cheeks light pink, “But I bet you didn’t either.”

“Touché,” you grant her, making you both laugh.

“Hey!” Daryl shouts almost angrily as he notices you’ve arrived, “Why the Hell are you here?”

“We’re goin’ on a run,” you answer in confusion.

“No, I’m goin’ on a run with Glenn and Maggie, you’re stayin’ here,” he informs you.

“The Hell I am,” you respond, your voice growing louder.

“No one said you could come,” he answers, his voice growing louder as well.

“That, um, that was my fault,” Glenn interjects, “I invited her.”

“Why the fuck did you do that?” Daryl asks, now angry with Glenn. Apparently this also made Maggie angry with Glenn for some unknown reason.

“Well if you’re going then so am I,” you shout.

“No you’re not,” Daryl shouts in return. He sighs as he places his hands on your shoulders, backing you away from the car Glenn and Maggie would be driving. “Y/N, this is somethin’ I gotta do on my own,” Daryl tells you, “And while I’m out, I need to know that you’re safe, ok?”

“Daryl, what’s so secret that you can’t tell me?” you ask him.

“It’s, personal,” Daryl answers hesitantly, “I need some time to myself.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” you ask him, “If you need some alone time, I understand. Just, next time, tell me before we have another shoutin’ match, ok? Tellin’ me before Glenn invites me on the run would be useful too.”

“From now on, I will,” Daryl says, “I promise.” Reaching up, you cup his cheek and capture his lips. “I love you,” Daryl mumbles.

“Love you too,” you mutter back. You break the kiss as you hear Glenn clearing his throat. You turn to face him, finding Maggie standing right behind him with her arms crossed across her chest.

“I’m really sorry, Y/N,” Glenn says, carding his fingers through his hair, “I guess I have to uninvite you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Glenn,” you assure him, “We figured it out. You guys be safe, ok? I’ll see you when you get back.” Maggie and Glenn say their goodbyes before getting into their car.

“Promise you’ll be here when I get back,” Daryl requests.

“Promise,” you answer, “Promise you’ll come back in one piece.”

“Promise,” he tells you, his forehead resting against yours. He captures your lips, the kiss only broken when you hear Maggie hitting the side of the car with her hand.

“Daryl, are we goin’ or not? You can make out with your girlfriend later!” she shouts, loud enough for others to hear. Daryl’s cheeks turn bright red.

“You better go before Maggie tells the whole prison what we’re up to,” you tease him. Daryl nods and you pull him in for one last quick kiss before letting him go.

The engine of Daryl’s motorcycle comes to life with a roar. You wished you were sitting on the back of it, your arms wrapped tightly around Daryl. Instead you watch him drive off. You sigh as the sound of the motorcycle fades out of earshot. The only thing you can do is hope and pray for his safe return.

Well, as long as you were up and about, you might as well do something useful. Adjusting your bow and quiver across your back, you decide to head outside the fence. Maybe you could do a little hunting, or get some target practice at the very least. You decide it’s best not to tell the others where you’re going. With Rick still in a bad place and the others helping to care for the baby, you didn’t want to be drug into the drama for the time being.

Sneaking to the hole in the fence, you untie the ropes holding it together before slipping out. You tie them back securely. Being outside the fence gave you a sense of freedom, but it also reminded you of all that time of being on the run. The group was starting to become complacent and it frightened you. Maybe you had a home for the time being, but in a world like this, things could change at a moment’s notice.

You loose an arrow at the sound of wood cracking not far from you. A smile crosses your lips as a walker falls to the ground; perfect shot, Daryl would’ve been proud, maybe a little jealous too. Hunting wasn’t what it used to be, not with you being both predator and prey.

Grabbing your arrow, you continue on your way. You can’t help but wonder what Daryl is out there looking for. As far as you knew, there’d been no sign of his brother. Maybe Daryl knew something you didn’t. But surely he would’ve told you if this involved Merle. Maybe he just needed some space. The two of you had been cooped up in that jail for so long that maybe he needed to be away from you for a little while.

Thinking about it, your relationship with Daryl had become strained lately. One day you had been talking about babies and marriage and the next thing you knew, you were hardly exchanging words. When you did talk, it usually led to a fight. Even so, you loved him and you knew he loved you. Maybe some space would be good for you both.

You knew it was strange to want to get married and raise children in a world like this, but you did want those things and you wanted them with Daryl. He obviously wasn’t ready for that, so you tried not to bring it up. Pressuring him into something he didn’t want would only make things worse. You wondered if he would take that step if the world were the way it used to be or if he wouldn’t be ready despite the circumstances.

After a while, you’ve caught a couple of squirrels. They were small, but at least the group would have a bite of meat tonight. A rustling sound catches your attention and you draw your bow, aiming at the sound. You loose your arrow as a deer appears. Killing the animal was heartbreaking. Taking the life of the living seemed a terrible waste, but you knew it needed to be done. You had people back at the prison who needed to eat, to survive.

You sling your bow across your back before lifting the deer onto your shoulders. Luckily it was small enough to carry, but it might make things difficult if you needed to make a quick escape.

“Shit,” you whisper to yourself, “How far out did I go?” Apparently you had become lost in your thoughts as you absentmindedly killed walkers and hunted squirrels. You were farther away from the prison than you had planned on going. That meant dragging the deer back over a farther distance.

The journey home is slow going. Several times you have to drop the deer in order to defend yourself from a walker. The sun is setting before you even get back to the prison. Finally, you come within view of the fence. “There she is!” Carol shouts, spotting you from the other side. As Carol shouts, Carl runs to the fence, untying the ropes holding it together.

“Everyone’s going crazy because of you,” Carl warns.

“Why?” you ask as you hand Carl the squirrels you’d caught and pull the deer through the fence, “I wasn’t gone that long.”

“All day is pretty long,” Carl corrects you, “And you were by yourself. You should’ve asked someone to go with you.”

“And by someone, you mean you?” you ask him.

“I mean, I would’ve gone if you asked,” he tells you, “I wouldn’t mind going out there on my own.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t mind, but I think your dad would kill me if I took you out there,” you tell him, earning a grumble. He was a fighter, but he was still just a kid, and a disobedient one at that. You both knew you couldn’t take him into a dangerous situation like that for no real reason.

“Y/N,” Daryl says, relief clear in his voice as he rushes towards you. The breath leaves your body as Daryl grabs you and pulls you to him tightly. “You promised you’d be here when I got back.”

“Didn’t know you’d be back so soon,” you tell him.

“This isn’t funny,” Daryl reminds you, “I got back and you were gone. Nobody knew where you were. If you hadn’t come back, I wouldn’t have had any clue where to start lookin’ for you.”

“I’m sorry,” you say quietly, “But I did catch a deer.”

“We all know you can hunt,” Daryl says, “You don’t need to run off by yourself in order to prove that. Next time you plan on goin’ out, tell someone where you’re goin’, ok?”

“I will,” you answer. You could see how stupid your choice to go out without telling anyone had been. “I should get the deer back into the prison,” you tell Daryl.

“Let someone else take care of it,” Daryl insists, “You caught it, someone else can clean and cook it.”

“I’ve got nothing better to do,” you tell him.

“Yes you do,” Daryl corrects. He finally lets you go so that he can grab you hand and pull you towards the cellblock.

“Daryl, I really am sorry,” you tell him, “If I had come back to find you missing without any explanation, I would’ve been upset and worried too.”

“I know you can take care of yourself,” Daryl admits, “It just scared me.”

“Sorry,” you say quietly, “So … how was your run?”

“Nothin’ special,” Daryl shrugs.

“No?” you ask, “Then why are you practically draggin’ me back to our room?” Daryl pulls the sheet across the opening of your cell, hiding the two of you inside.

“I, um, I wanted you,” Daryl answers. He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks down at the floor as if he’s embarrassed.

“I thought you were mad at me,” you say, letting your hands trail up his chest.

“Not mad,” Daryl grumbles, “Just worried.”

“Daryl, what happened out there?” you ask him, “You seem … different …”

“No I’m not,” Daryl protests.

“Are you sure there’s nothin’ you wanna talk about?” you question.

“I’m sure … for now,” Daryl tells you, “But I brought you somethin’.” Daryl quickly pulls his hands from his pockets and walks towards the bed. He grabs a plastic bag and holds it out to you. You take it from him and peek inside, a smile crossing your lips.

“Condoms?” you laugh, “Is this why you’re actin’ so weird?”

“I ain’t actin’ weird,” Daryl mutters.

“Sure,” you tease him, “Since when is bringin’ a girl a bag full of condoms not weird?”

“Maggie and Glenn stopped at a convenience store and I went with them and found those,” Daryl shrugs.

“Well, did you leave any for the two of them?” you laugh.

“Maggie said those were the good ones,” Daryl replies, “She said we’d like ‘em; and no I didn’t take ‘em all.”

“I am so sorry I missed that conversation,” you giggle.

“I’m not,” Daryl admits. You watch him as he slips his left hand back into his pocket. He seemed nervous, but you weren’t sure what it was about. Did he find something about his brother that he was afraid to tell you about?

“So,” you say, trying to distract him, “Did you bring these back to use or are they purely decoration?”

“Take your clothes off and find out,” he tells you.

“Wow!” you tease, “Dirty.” Daryl closes the distance between you, taking the bag from your hands and placing it to the side. His hands move down to your hips, pushing you back against the wall. Your curiosity begins to get the better of you and you let your hand trail down towards his pocket. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you come with me earlier,” Daryl apologizes as he catches your wrist and moves your hand above your head, holding it back against the wall. He does the same to your other hand, holding both your wrists with one hand.

“I think you can make up for it if you let me come with you now,” you tease. Daryl smirks before leaning in to capture your lips. With his free hand, he reaches down and unbuttons the front of your pants.

“I love you,” Daryl mumbles against your lips as he slips his hand into your panties. You moan your love for him as he runs his fingers through your slick folds. His fingers brush your clit before he dips two fingers inside you.

“Daryl,” you groan, trying to wiggle your wrists free from his hand. He breaks the kiss, moving his lips to your neck. His fingers slide in and out of you, slowly enough to torture you. “Daryl, please,” you moan. He kisses the sweet spot behind your ear as he pulls his fingers from you. You wiggle your hips to help him as he pushes your pants and panties down around your ankles.

His hand quickly moves to the buckle of his belt as you kick your clothing to the side. You groan as you wait for Daryl to push his pants and boxers down, wishing you could touch him. His hard cock springs free and you want nothing more at the moment than to have him inside you. “I’m sorry I yelled at you too,” Daryl tells you as he pulls out a condom and tears it open with his teeth.

“I’ve already forgiven you,” you tell him. Daryl rolls the condom over his length before pulling your leg up around his waist.

“I love you,” Daryl tells you before pressing his lips to yours roughly. In one swift motion, he lets go of your wrists and pulls your other leg up around his waist, hoisting you up and pressing you hard against the wall. You drape your arms over his shoulders for support, fisting your hands into his shirt as you tilt your head to the side, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

You moan against his lips as he pushes into you, filling and stretching you. Daryl’s hands press flat against the wall for support as he pulls back and thrusts into you again. Whimpers escape your lips as Daryl’s thrusts become rougher and more demanding. Each one presses you hard against the wall, your clothing sticking to the brick. You pull at his clothing, wishing you could feel his bare skin beneath your hands. When that doesn’t work, you slip your hand beneath the material of his shirt and slide your fingers along the skin of his back.

Fisting your free hand in his hair, you tug hard enough to tilt his head back. “I love you,” you tell him. Daryl grunts as your walls flutter around him. His hips bucking forward, driving him deep inside you. You tighten your legs around him, clinging to him as he drives you closer and closer to your high.

“Fuck,” Daryl gasps, “I love you.” Pressure builds in your stomach as Daryl captures your lips again. One of Daryl’s hands moves down to your thigh, his fingertips digging into your skin. He throbs and twitches inside you as his rhythm falters and becomes erratic.

You moan loudly as he brings you right to the edge of orgasm, but Daryl kisses you deeper in an attempt to muffle the sound. Your hand fists tighter in his hair, the fingernails of your other hand surely leaving marks across his back. If Daryl’s lips weren’t moving so roughly against yours, you would’ve cried out as your orgasm hits you like a freight train.

Instead, you settle for moaning and whimpering loudly as your walls clamp down around his throbbing cock. You hold him as close as you can as your body shudders, pleasure coursing through every vein. His thrusts continue, working you through your high as he chases his own. Daryl grunts and groans against your lips and you hungrily swallow every sound he makes.

He grunts loudly as his cock pulses inside you, spilling himself into the condom. His hold on your thigh tightens, holding you as still as he can his hips buck erratically. You can feel the muscles of his back rippling beneath your fingers, his body tensing and relaxing with each wave of pleasure washing over him. “I’m sorry I worried you,” you whisper gently as you coax him to rest his forehead against yours.

“I’ve already forgiven you,” Daryl replies, mimicking your words, “I had time to think today.”

“‘Bout what?” you ask him.

“Stuff,” Daryl answers vaguely, “I don’t wanna be apart from you, ever.”

“You don’t have to be,” you tell him, “I’m right here, I’ll always be right here.”

“Ain’t enough,” Daryl replies, “I think -”

“Dinner’s ready!” you hear Beth calling from the lower floor of the cellblock, “Y/N, Daryl, I’m talking to you!”

“What is it, Daryl?” you press, ignoring Beth’s calls.

“Nothin’,” He answers as he pulls himself from you and places you back down, “We should get dressed and eat. If we don’t she’ll just come lookin’ for us.”

“Daryl, what were you goin’ to tell me?” you ask again.

“Like I said, it’s nothin’,” he replies. You keep your eyes on him as you get dressed, wondering what he’s acting so strange about. “Let’s go,” he says when you’re both ready. Daryl slips his left hand into his pocket, playing with something he had hidden there. He slips his other hand into yours, guiding you out of your cell and down the stairs to dinner.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requests: Please keep your Daryl fic going! AND The world needs more Daryl! AND More Outcast please!

Fic:

“Have you seen Maggie or Glenn?” Beth asks you and Daryl as you sit down around the fire they had going.

“Not since I left them at the convenience store earlier today,” Daryl answers, “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“They probably just wanted some time alone,” you add. Even with the fire going, it was still cold. Daryl wraps one arm around you and pulls you close in an attempt to keep you warm. Hershel passes out plates filled with food; it was a rare luxury to be eating so much in one sitting.

Daryl digs in, eating his food quickly with his fingers. “Yeah, they’ll be back soon,” Beth says, trying to assure herself more than anyone else, “So, Daryl, did you find what you were looking for out there?” You can’t stop yourself from bursting out laughing. “What’s so funny?” Beth asks, confused.

“Nothin’,” you answer, “Inside joke.”

“Yeah, I found what I was lookin’ for,” Daryl grumbles.

“Good,” Beth says with a smile, “What ever it was, I’m glad you found it.”

“Me too,” you agree. Daryl nudges you, and you instantly fight to hide your smile. You sit quietly, eating your food as the rest of the group talks. If you hadn’t already been thoroughly chastised for your unannounced hunt, Hershel and Rick make sure you are.

“Hey!” Daryl finally speaks up, “Y/N’s the reason you’re eatin’ as well as you are. You should be thankin’ her, not yellin’ at her.”

“You’re right,” Rick concedes, “I’m sorry, Y/N, I just don’t want to lose anybody else.”

“I’m sorry I snuck off,” you apologize, “It won’t happen again.”

The group finally seems to have moved on from the topic and you’re able to eat your dinner in peace. You knew they had all been worried about you and the thought actually makes you happy. This was your family. It was a little dysfunctional, but you had people who cared about you, people you could care about.

As people finish up their dinners, they begin to leave the fireside. Eventually the last person heads off, leaving only you and Daryl alone by the fire. You snuggle against him, your head rested on his shoulder as you look up at the stars. The crackle of the fire and the chirping of crickets fill the air. It was times like this, when everything seemed so peaceful, that you could forget what the world was really like.

“Y/N?” Daryl asks.

“Yeah?” you ask in return.

“I … never mind,” he says, his hand playing with whatever he had in his pocket again. The action gives you an odd, nervous feeling, but you try to brush the feeling off. He sits in silence for a time before finally breaking it. “I had this whole speech planned,” he tells you, “I was gonna come back and you’d be there watin’ for me. You were supposed to come runnin’ up to me and I’d hug you before, well, I guess it don’t matter now.”

“Daryl,” you begin, but your words trail off as Daryl pulls a ring from his pocket and holds it in front of you.

“Like I said, I had a whole speech planned,” he says, “But after all the commotion, I forgot what I meant to say. I guess I’ll just skip to the end and ask you if you’d marry me.” He’s so nervous that he can’t even look at you. Instead he keeps his eyes on the fire burning in front of him.

“Yes,” you answer softly.

“I’m not even sure if it’s the right size,” he continues as if he didn’t hear you, “Maggie helped me pick it out, but I can get a new one if you don’t like it. You don’t have to say yes either, I know things ‘tween us’ve been different lately, and …”

“Daryl,” you say a little louder, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“You will?” he asks. You move away from him just far enough so that you can cup his face between your hands.

“I love you, Daryl, and yes, I will marry you,” you tell him, “The ring is perfect and I don’t need a speech to know that you love me.”

“I wasn’t sure,” Daryl admits, “We were talkin’ ‘bout gettin’ married the other day and then you never brought it up again. Then we got into this weird thing where we hardly talked and argued when we did talk.”

“I didn’t bring it up ‘cause I was watin’ for you to say somethin’,” you tell him, “I was afraid that if I made you feel pressured, you’d leave me.”

“I’d never leave you,” Daryl says, relief in his expression. You’d almost forgotten all about the ring when Daryl takes your left hand in his. “You’re sure?” he asks.

“Yes,” you answer without even the slightest hint of hesitation. Daryl slips the ring onto your finger and it’s a perfect fit. “How’s you know my ring size?” you ask him.

“Like I said, Maggie helped me pick it out,” Daryl reminds you.

“So this is what you really went out there for today. I guess I should be thankin’ Maggie,” you say as you examine the ring, watching the way it sparkles in the firelight. “I love you, Daryl,” you repeat. You knew you could never say it enough, but that didn’t stop you from trying.

“I love you too,” he replies. He cards his hand through your hair before leaning in to capture your lips. You place your hand against the nape of his neck, deepening the kiss as you tilt your head to the side. Daryl pulls you closer to him, his hand tangling messily into your hair.

You’re not sure how long the kiss goes on, but eventually you begin to feel eyes watching you. “Daryl,” you whisper as you break the kiss. Daryl follows you as you move away, not wanting the kiss to end. You place a hand to his chest, keeping him from moving any closer. “I think we’re being watched,” you tell him.

“Don’t care,” Daryl answers, trying to pull you closer again.

“Really?” you laugh, “You don’t care? Every time I make some kind of dirty comment in front of the rest of the group, your face turns bright red, but you have no problem makin’ out in front of them like this?”

“I love you and I’m not embarrassed to let them know,” Daryl tells you.

“Daryl, that’s sweet, but I think I’d rather have some alone time with you,” you tell him as you let your hand trail over his chest, “Besides, we left the condoms up in the room.” Daryl wets his lips before drawing the bottom one between his teeth. He looks around, groaning as he notices where the others have placed themselves. “What’s wrong?” you ask him. When he doesn’t answer, you let your hand trail down to his lap. “Oh,” you whisper with a smirk as you feel his erection through the material of his jeans.

“Stop that,” he whispers, catching your wrist, “You’re makin’ it worse.”

“Well, if we had gone back to our room, I could’ve made it better,” you tease. Daryl looks over his shoulder again, his eyes flicking from person to person.

“Let’s go,” he finally says, pushing himself up from the ground and offering you his hand. You take it, letting him help you up before following him towards the prison. He had a path all laid out that took you past the fewest amount of people. Each time you pass someone, you try to tell them good night, but Daryl tugs your hand, encouraging you to keep moving. You can’t keep yourself from giggling as Daryl struggles to hide his erection. “You think this is funny?” Daryl asks you as he guides you inside.

“A little,” you admit.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Daryl grumbles, only making you laugh harder. When he gets you back to the cell, you pull the curtain across the door and Daryl instantly pulls you to him. “I do love you,” he mumbles against your lips.

“That’s probably a good thing,” you tease him as you slip your arms around him, “Since you asked me to marry you and all.”

“You said yes,” Daryl mumbles, more to himself than to you. It’s almost as if he’s in disbelief.

“I said yes,” you assure him, smiling as you play with the ring on your finger. Daryl smiles as he captures your lips, kissing you passionately. You pull at him, guiding him towards the bed. When the backs of your knees hit the edge you move to sit down, fisting your hand into the front of his shirt and guiding him onto the bed with you. His hands slide down to your hips and he pulls at you, encouraging you to move to his lap.

You move to straddle his lap without breaking the kiss. Daryl’s hands slide beneath your shirt, his callused fingertips trailing along your skin. You swipe your tongue across Daryl’s bottom lip, asking for entrance, which he grants. Slipping your tongue into his mouth, you begin to map out the space but Daryl begins fighting you for control.

Unbuttoning the buttons of his shirt, you slide your hands along his chest. His hands slide further up your back, pushing your shirt higher. You’re reluctant to break the kiss, but you pull away just long enough to let Daryl pull your shirt over your head. He balls the material up and tosses it to the side. You take the opportunity to push his shirt from his shoulders.

Daryl fists one of his hands in your hair, bringing your lips back to his as he unhooks your bra with his free hand. You pull the material from yourself and Daryl instantly pulls you closer. His hands explore your body as if it’s for the first time. Breaking the kiss, you begin leaving kisses down his neck.

“I want you,” you mumble against his skin. Daryl groans as you grind yourself against him. His fingertips dig into the skin of your back as he holds you close. His chest rises and falls with his heavy breaths as he tries to control himself. Finally he snaps.

“I need you,” he tells you as he grabs your thighs and lifts you up. Turning you, he lays you back against the bed, settling himself above you. He rests one of his forearms beside your head, his hand slipping into your hair. His other hand moves down to your hip, his thumb rubbing gentle circles against your skin.

You run your hands down his chest and abdomen, only stopping when you reach the button of his pants. Daryl presses kisses down your neck as you work at the button and zipper. His lips move lower on your body and your back arches as he sucks one of your nipples between them.

“Daryl,” you moan, squirming beneath him. You fists your hands in his hair, tugging gently and begging for more. Daryl’s eyes flick up to meet your gaze, watching you as he kisses lower on your body. His hands slide down your sides, only making you squirm more. You moan as he presses kisses along the waistband of your pants.

“I love you,” he says as he opens your pants and hooks his fingers into the waistband of your pants and panties. You lift your hips, helping him as he pulls the material down. He kisses your thighs as he pulls off your shoes and socks, tossing them to the floor before he pulls off the rest of your clothing.

“Where are you going?” you ask him as he stands from the bed. You sit up on the bed, grabbing his wrist and trying to pull him back to you.

“Nowhere,” he answers as he hastily kicks off his shoes, toes off his socks, and pushes down his pants and boxers. You draw your bottom lip between your teeth as his hard cock springs free and pull at his wrist again. He grabs a condom and tears it open before moving back onto the bed.

Daryl moves to kneel between your legs, rolling the condom onto his length. He presses a hand to your chest and encourages you to lie back down as he settles himself above you. “I love you,” you whisper, running your hand through his hair.

“I love you too,” Daryl whispers back, placing kisses against your cheeks. Daryl’s right hand takes your left hand, fingers intertwining. He brings your hand to his lips, kissing your knuckles before pressing your hand back against the pillow beside your head. His other hand moves down to your thigh, hooking behind it and guiding your leg up around his waist.

You bring his lips to yours, kissing him passionately as he lines himself up with your entrance. Daryl groans against your lips as he slides into you, filling you to the hilt. You swallow the sound hungrily, dragging your fingertips lightly down his back.

A moan escapes your lips as Daryl pulls back and slides into you again. He sets an agonizingly slow pace. Each gentle thrust only leaves you wanting more. Daryl breaks the kiss and buries his face into the crook of your neck, lips leaving gentle kisses against your skin as he keeps a steady rhythm.

You squeeze his hand, your back arching as he changes his angle and hits just the right spot inside you. Daryl’s hand slides up from your thigh, slipping around to the small of your back. He holds you close as he makes love to you, your body reacting to his every movement.

“I love you,” he whispers between thrusts. You moan your love for him in return, lifting your hips to match his thrusts.

“Daryl,” you moan, trying to muffle the sound against Daryl’s shoulder. Daryl’s teeth nip at your skin as he groans, his hand squeezing yours tighter. You slide your hand up his back, tangling your fingers into his hair messily.

Daryl throbs inside you as your walls begin to tighten around him. Pressure builds in your stomach, your body writhing beneath his. You gasp as his rhythm falters, the change making your toes curl.

“Y/N,” he groans, his fingertips digging into your skin. His cock twitches hard as he nears his end, his thrusts and kisses becoming rougher as he begins to lose control.

“Daryl,” you moan loudly. You bite your bottom lip, trying to hold back the moan that threatens to spill from your lips as your orgasm washes over you. Daryl grunts as your walls clamp down around him, sending him spiraling over the edge with you.

“Oh, Y/N,” he groans against your neck as his cock pulses. He presses his lips to yours, kissing you passionately as you both come undone. You squeeze his hand tightly, holding onto him as your body shudders.

“Daryl,” you whisper again and again like a prayer as he works you through your high, “I love you.” Daryl whispers his love for you in return, his thrusts slowly coming to an end.

Daryl’s hand slides up from your back and moves to cup your cheek. You kiss the pad of his thumb as he traces it across your lips. He smiles as you turn your head and kiss the palm of his hand.

You stay like that for a while, wrapped up in each other, kissing each other here and there. There’s a comfortable silence, each of you taking pleasure in the other’s company. Finally, Daryl leans down to kiss you as he pulls himself from you and moves to your side. You turn to your side as Daryl rids himself of the condom.

Holding your left hand out in front of you, you watch as the diamond ring Daryl had picked out for you sparkles in the light. “You said yes,” Daryl repeats as he snuggles up against your back, one arm draped over your waist, the other slipping beneath your head. You could tell he was trying to assure himself that this was real.

“I did,” you tell him, smiling as you turn the ring from side to side with your thumb.

“And you really like it?” he asks, “That’s why I wanted Maggie there. I thought she’d know what to choose better than I would.”

“It’s perfect,” you tell him, “I love it.”

“Good,” Daryl says, placing a kiss to the back of your shoulder.

“You didn’t have to do this you know,” you tell him, giving him a chance to back out if he didn’t really want this.

“Yes, I did,” Daryl answers, “Not just ‘cause you mentioned it, but ‘cause I want to. It’s like you say, ‘what’s the point in survivin’ if you ain’t livin?’ I want a life, Y/N, and you’re the only one I want it with.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Requests: Outcast is wonderful honey, please don’t stop at part 9 AND I would love to see Daryl and the reader get married in your series. AND More outcast, pretty please with Daryl on top??!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know one of the requests asks to see Daryl and the Reader get married, but I wasn’t quite to that part in the story yet. I hope that’s okay and I hope you guys enjoy!

Warnings: Language, more canon divergence (I know I’m not following the exact timeline in the show), no smut in this part, derogatory name calling, violence, minor character death, injured!reader

Fic:

Despite how badly you wanted to get married, now was not the time for a wedding. It wasn’t long ago that the group had lost T-Dog and Lori, and thought they’d lost Carol. Finding Carol alive was a blessing, but now with Glenn and Maggie missing, the group’s morale was lower than ever. Daryl blamed himself for their disappearance. He believed that if he had stayed with them at the convenience store instead of heading back to the prison, he could’ve protected them. You weren’t as sure as he was. If he had stayed, he could’ve disappeared too. You didn’t even want to think about that.

You’d gone with Daryl to search for the couple every day since they disappeared. Starting from where Daryl had seen them last, you begin widening your search area, praying that the two had just been looking for a little alone time and that nothing bad had happened to either of them. Daryl never let you out of his sight, and you never let him out of yours. After losing so many people, you were both terrified of losing each other.

Daryl was the best tracker you knew, and even he had no clue where they’d gone. Since Glenn and Maggie had gone missing, you hadn’t slept much. Daryl tossed and turned at night and you knew he would never forgive himself if something happened to them, even though you knew it wasn’t his fault. You did your best to comfort him, holding him tight and running your hand through his hair. The only way Daryl could fall asleep was if he was snuggled up against you, his hands fisted in your shirt and his head against your chest.

“I should go out lookin’ for ‘em again,” Daryl says, even as he snuggles closer to you.

“No,” you say gently, “You need rest, we both do. We’re no good to them if we don’t get some sleep.”

“I just feel like I should be doin’ more,” Daryl says.

“I know,” you tell him as you place a kiss to the top of his head, “So do I.”

***

“Wake up,” Beth says, shaking your shoulder.

“What’s going on?” you ask, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“You’re gonna wanna see this,” she tells you, “Daryl too.” Waking Daryl, you follow Beth down the stairs and to the room where the rest of the group is interrogating, or rather trying to interrogate, a woman you’d never seen before. She sits on the table, one hand in her lap, the other wrapped tightly around her side. Her clothes are stained with blood and you can tell she’s been badly injured.

“What’s your name?” Rick asks. The woman sits quietly, her eyes narrowed at you and Daryl as if she’s trying to measure the two of you up.

“You were with them,” she says, looking at Daryl, “I saw you at the convenience store.”

“You saw Maggie and Glenn?” Daryl asks her, his hands becoming fists.

“Yeah, I saw ‘em,” she answers, “I saw what happened to ‘em too.”

“Well, what happened?” Daryl asks. He was getting irritated by the woman’s unwillingness to share. You slip your hand into his, trying to ground him.

“Woodbury,” she answers.

“What does that mean?” you ask her, prompting her to explain.

“They were kidnapped,” she continues, “And taken to a town of about 75 that’s run by this guy, calls himself the Governor. Pretty boy, charming, real Jim Jones type.”

“Well, why didn’t you fuckin’ say so?” Daryl shouts. If the bars weren’t between the two of them, he would’ve lunged at her.

“How do we find it?” Rick asks.

“I can show you,” the woman offers. Rick pauses, seeming to consider the woman’s offer.

“Can we trust her?” Carol asks softly, “We don’t even know her name.”

“She did bring back food and supplies for the baby,” Beth adds, supporting the stranger.

“And what if she’s lyin’?” Daryl asks.

“What if she isn’t?” Rick questions in return.

“She’s hurt, bad,” you whisper, “It doesn’t look like she’s on good terms with these Woodbury people.”

“Who did that to you?” Rick asks the woman.

“One of the Governor’s goons,” she answers, “We weren’t exactly each other’s biggest fans.”

“It could be a trap,” Carol whispers.

“Or it could be the truth,” you say, “Those Woodbury people could have Maggie and Glenn, doin’ God knows what to ‘em. If they have Maggie and Glenn, and somethin’ happens to them because we didn’t take this woman’s word, we’ll never be able to forgive ourselves.”

“Y/N’s right,” Rick says.

“You trust her?” Daryl asks, gesturing to the woman on the other side of the bars.

“No,” Rick answers, “But I don’t think we can afford to ignore her either.”

***

“You sure you want to come with us?” Daryl asks you, his arms wrapped around your waist.

“Beats stayin’ here,” you tell him as you play with his vest, “I’d rather be doin’ somethin’. Plus I like knowin’ that you’re ok. If I didn’t go with you, I’d just be sittin’ around worryin’. At least if I go with you guys I can feel like I’m helpin’.”

“I just want to know you’re safe,” Daryl says.

“We’re safest when we’re together,” you tell him as he pulls you in close. Your head rests against his chest, his hand carding through your hair.

“I hope you’re right,” Daryl says before placing a kiss to the top of your head. You stand quietly in his arms, content to listen to the sound of his heartbeat.

“Let’s go,” Rick says as he returns from his talk with Carl. Nodding, you pull away from Daryl and grab your supplies. You follow Rick to the car you’d be taking, Oscar and the woman, you’d learned her name was Michonne, waiting for you there.

You take the back seat with Daryl and Oscar, while Rick takes the driver’s seat and Michonne takes the passenger’s seat. Rick starts up the engine and drives slowly to the fence of the prison, waiting for Beth to open the gate. He follows Michonne’s instructions, taking a route that would take you close enough to Woodbury that you could sneak in and search for your friends. Daryl holds your hand all the way, his thumb brushing over your knuckles.

When you’re as close as the road will take you, Rick turns off the engine. You get out of the car and give Daryl one last kiss before slinging your quiver over your shoulders. Grabbing your bag, you arm yourself with knives and a gun before grabbing your bow. The others arm themselves as well.

“So,” you begin, directing your question at Michonne, “How do we find this place?”

“Follow me,” she answers, leading the way through the woods. She pulls her katana from its sheath, ready to strike if anything comes her way. The rest of the rescue party follows behind her, keeping an eye on her every move. You still weren’t sure you could trust her and this could very well be a trap.

The relative silence is broken by the shambling of feet, a soft moaning and growling filling the air. “Run!” Rick shouts as a herd of walkers comes into view. Daryl grabs your upper arm, keeping you close as you run through the woods. You take out any walker that comes within reach, saving your arrows and opting to use one of your knives instead.

“There!” Michonne shouts, pointing to a cabin up ahead. The group books it toward the shelter, hoping to find some safety. Daryl pushes the door open with his shoulder, pulling you inside before ushering the others in. You and Daryl push your backs against the door, making sure the walkers can’t get in.

“Thank God,” Oscar sighs as he slumps against the wooden table. Everyone takes a moment to catch their breath, but the moment is cut short by a man hidden in the corner of the room.

“What are you doing here?” he asks frantically, “You shouldn’t be here, you’ve brought them right to me, get out or I’ll shoot!” He raises a gun, pointing at the members of your group with shaky hands.

“It’s ok,” Rick says, trying to calm the situation, “If we stay quiet, they’ll pass by.”

“No they won’t,” the man responds, his voice growing louder, “They’re going to get in, you’ve killed us all!”

“Be quiet,” Michonne hisses.

“This is all your fault! We’re all going to die!” the man shouts. If he didn’t shut up, you’d all be dead for sure. Suddenly, he throws himself at you, trying to get you out of the way so that he can escape. His hands fist in your jacket as the pulls you away from the door, the fabric tearing as he pulls you.

“Let go of me!” you demand. Pushing him back, you get enough space between you to plant your foot firmly on his abdomen. You kick him hard enough to make him stumble backward, but instead of deterring him, it only makes him angry. The man charges at you and you prepare for a fight, but before he can reach you, the blade of Michonne’s katana appears through the man’s chest.

Daryl doesn’t miss a beat. He grabs the man by the collar of his shirt and drags him to the door, tossing him out to the walkers. He closes the door before rushing to you. “Are you alright?” Daryl asks, wrapping you up in his arms and holding you tight.

“I’m fine,” you tell him, hugging him back.

“We should go while the walkers are distracted,” Rick says. You nod, pulling away from Daryl and grabbing your gear before following Rick out the back door. Daryl grabs the gun the hermit had dropped when Michonne stabbed him, shoving the weapon into the waistband of his jeans.

“Thank you for what you did back there,” you thank Michonne as you walk beside her.

“Don’t mention it,” she answers.

“I mean it,” you press, “You didn’t have to do that, so thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Michonne says.

The rest of the walk to the walls of Woodbury are relatively quiet. You run into a walker here or there, but it’s nothing the group can’t handle. “So, how do we get in?” Oscar asks, examining the wall from where the group hides in the bushes.

“Maybe there’s a spot where we can climb over or squeeze through,” Rick reasons.

“Guys, where’s Michonne?” you ask, realizing that she’s missing.

“I knew she couldn’t be trusted,” Daryl growls, “Probably led us straight into a trap.”

“It’s not a trap,” Michonne says as she returns from wherever she had snuck off to, “I have someone in there I need to save too. I found a way in, follow me.” The group looks to Rick, waiting for his decision. He nods, letting you know he thinks it’s worth following her into the town.

You sneak closer and closer to the wall with Daryl by your side, both of you keeping low to avoid being seen by the guards on the wall. Luckily there are rundown cars littered all around, providing cover. Michonne leads the group up to the wall, showing you a loose panel she’d found. Oscar helps her pry the panel free, giving the group a way in.

“Where would they hold them?” Rick asks Michonne.

“I don’t know for sure,” Michonne admits, “But I have some ideas.”

Suddenly, gunfire breaks out. Without hesitation, the group races toward the sounds. It leads you to a warehouse and you head inside along with the rest of the group. You find an army waiting there, all armed with guns. Whether or not this is what Michonne had intended, the group was going to have to fight. Gunfire breaks out again and you loose your arrows one after the other. Daryl keeps close to your side, both of you protecting each other.

The group makes their way further and further into the prison and, almost to your surprise, you spot Glenn and Maggie. They were fighting just as hard to escape as your group was fighting to get in. Rick grabs a smoke grenade from his belt and tosses it into the hall, filling the space with smoke. The distraction is enough to allow your group to escape with Glenn and Maggie, and regroup outside the warehouse.

Both Maggie and Glenn are beaten and battered, clearly they’d been tortured and you knew Daryl would never forgive himself for what had happened to them. “Thank God you’re alive,” you whisper, hugging Maggie and then Glenn. Daryl takes his turn as well, but Glenn tells Daryl something that changes everything.

“He’s here, Daryl,” Glenn whispers.

“Who?” Daryl asks.

“Merle,” Glenn answers, “He’s the one who did this to us, he was going to execute us.”

“He’s here?” Daryl asks. Glenn nods in response. “I have to find him,” Daryl says. He tries to stand, but Rick catches Daryl’s arm.

“You can’t leave,” Rick tells him, “It’s too dangerous to go on your own. We need you here.” Daryl nods, seeming content to stay for the moment, but as soon as Rick turns his back, Daryl takes off.

“Shit,” you whisper. You couldn’t let him go after his brother on his own, not here and not like this. Daryl runs through the streets, the air filled with gunfire and you chase after him. You finally catch up to him, grabbing his arm and pushing him up against the side of a house. “Daryl, wait a minute,” you whisper.

“I can’t, if Merle is here, I have to find him,” Daryl answers, “Maybe he can help us stop this.”

“Think about this for a minute,” you plead, “This place is huge. Even if Merle is here, we won’t be able to find him, not with people shooting at us.”

“You should go with Rick and the rest of ‘em,” Daryl tells you, “I need to know you’re safe.”

“Well, I need to know that you’re safe too and I’m not leaving you,” you tell him, “If you want to stay and find Merle, then I’m staying too, but we need to be smart about this. We can’t just go running through the streets.”

“You’re right,” Daryl concedes.

Taking your time, you begin exploring Woodbury, searching for Daryl’s brother. As hard as you search, you find nothing. You could only hope that the rest of your group had escaped and that you would find Merle soon. As far as you knew, Glenn had mistaken someone else for Merle. Both Maggie and Glenn had been tortured to within an inch of their lives and they might have seen things that weren’t even really there. That didn’t stop Daryl from believing that his brother was alive. 

You try to avoid fighting as much as you can, but ultimately there’s too many of them. Their army is all around you and they have you cornered. With one wrong step, Daryl alerts them to exactly where you are. You fight your hardest as the men grab you, prying your weapon from your hands. Daryl fights too, both of you screaming and shouting, trying to fight your way to one another.

In a last ditch effort to escape, you sink your teeth into the arm of one of the men who’s restraining you. The metallic taste of blood washes over your tongue as you break the skin. “Ouch!” the man screams, pulling away and pushing you to the ground, “Bitch!”

The next thing you know, your vision goes blurry as the man delivers a blow to the back of your head with the button of his rifle. “Y/N!” you hear Daryl shout as the world goes black, the ground coming up to meet you.

***

Cheering, it’s the first thing you here when you regain consciousness. Two men stand to either side of you, both holding your limp body up by your arms. Your head is pounding, making it difficult to concentrate. Looking to your left, you find Daryl, two men holding him as he tries to struggle free. It’s hard to see in the dim firelight of the torches, but you can make out a crowd standing around an open dirt floor, one man at the middle of it all. You couldn’t be sure, your vision was still a little blurry, but you could swear the man was Merle.

“Merle betrayed us,” a voice shouts, the cheering dying down, “He’s been working with the prison all along. He probably even let these terrorists in. If you want proof of Merle’s treachery, here it is!” The men drag you and Daryl forward, pushing your both to the floor of the arena. Both you and Daryl look up from where you’d landed. Merle stands over the two of you, looking up at the man whom you presumed was the Governor. “These people, this man and his whore, come in here and put our lives at risk,” the Governor continues, “Are we just going to stand by and let these people get away with killing our people?”

“Kill them!” the crowd chants over and over again.

“Well, Merle, you wanted your brother,” the Governor shouts, “Now you’ve got him!”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and the reader escape the arena with Merle and the rest of the group, but when Rick refuses to bring Merle back to the prison Daryl is forced to make a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requests: Hey, I just found your blog and binge read your Daryl x reader outcast fanfic. I was wondering if you were continuing it I absolutely LOVE it and if so if I could be tagged in it??? Xxxxxx AND God Outcast is so, so, soooooo amazing. I love it <3 I need MORE. Please? ^^

Warnings: Language, offensive name calling, fighting/arguing, more cannon divergence, some quotes were used from the season 3, episode 9 (The Suicide King)

Fic:

“I asked you where your loyalties lie. You said here,” the Governor shouts, “Well, prove it. Prove it to us all. Brother against brother, fight to the death. Winner goes free. If you kill the girl, it’s a bonus.”

“Philip, please,” you hear a woman plead, “Don’t do this.”

The crowd shouts, urging Merle to fight, to kill. Guards bring out walkers, forcing you closer to both Merle and Daryl. If you didn’t fight willingly, the people of Woodbury would force you to kill each other. Suddenly, Merle speaks up, “Y’all know me. I’m gonna do whatever I gotta do to prove that my loyalty is to this town!” Merle kicks Daryl down, Daryl landing with a shout. You scream at Merle, asking him how he could do this to his own brother.

The crowd cheers loudly. You drop to your knees beside Daryl, cradling his head and checking to make sure that he’s okay as you try to help him back up. “You really think this asshole’s gonna let you go?” Daryl asks his brother, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Just follow my lead, little brother,” Merle answers, “We’re getting out of this right now, her too. Stay close.”

The guards bring the walkers closer and you know it’s now or never. Merle shouts for you to go as he turns on the people of Woodbury, fighting off the walkers and the guards. Daryl hesitates, not wanting to leave without his brother. You tug on Daryl’s vest, trying to pull him from the scene, but it does no good. When you finally admit that Daryl isn’t going to leave, you turn and begin to fight the walkers as well. The crowd boos as they realize you’re fighting as a united front rather than against one another.

Suddenly, shots ring out. At first you think they’re aimed at you, but you quickly realize that they’re aimed at the crowd. People in the crowd begin to scream and scramble. In all of the commotion, the crowd forgets about the three of you in the arena. Daryl points out the source of the shots and behind the guns, you see Maggie, Rick, and Oscar. They make their way into the middle of the arena. When they reach you, they hand you and Daryl knives, allowing you to protect yourselves.

“Follow me,” Merle shouts. The group follows Merle out of the arena and to a fence. Merle kicks the fence down, allowing your group to escape. Rick takes over from there, leading the group out to a road where Michonne is waiting by a car. Glenn is there too.

“Glenn!” Maggie shouts. She runs to him and wraps her arms around him, Glenn hugging her back.

“You alright?” Daryl asks as he wraps his arm around your waist.

“My head hurts and my mouth still tastes like blood,” you answer, “But other than that, I’m peachy.” Daryl pulls you tight to his side and presses a kiss to the top of your head. “What about you?” you ask.

“Well, I feel like I got kicked in the stomach,” Daryl answers.

“You did get kicked in the stomach,” you point out.

“My point exactly,” Daryl says, “I just … I can’t believe Merle is really here.”

“Yeah, me neither,” you say. You wrap your arm around Daryl’s waist and hug him tight as you continue walking toward the car.

“What the hell is he doing here?” you hear Glenn shout. He pulls his gun on Merle and Michonne pulls her katana. You jump into action along with Daryl and Rick, telling the two to put their weapons away. Glenn and Michonne protest, refusing to let down their guard.

“He helped us get out of there,” Maggie insists.

“Yeah, right after he beat the shit out of you,” Glenn retorts. Merle warns Glenn to put the gun down, but when he refuses, Merle begins to laugh.

“Everybody, stop,” you insist, but you’re ignored. The tension thickens and finally, both you and Daryl place yourselves between Merle and the rest of the group.

“Are you taking their side, little brother?” Merle asks.

“I ain’t on anybody’s side,” Daryl answers.

“No?” Merle asks, “Not even your little girlfriend there? That’s a pretty little ring on her finger. You give that to her? What else have you been givin’ her?”

“Shut up,” Daryl shouts. Daryl grabs his brother by the front of his shirt and pushes him away from you.

“Oh!” Merle laughs, “Are you actually tellin’ me you love her?”

“A lot’s happened while you’ve been gone,” Daryl says, releasing his brother’s shirt.

“That’s pretty obvious,” Merle replies, “You must be a regular charmer, just like the Governor.”

“What does that mean?” you ask, growing angry at the fact that Merle would compare his brother to a man who almost forced them to fight to the death.

“Oh, y’all didn’t know?” Merle asks, “The Governor’s been putting the wood to your friend Andrea. Big time, baby.” You wouldn’t necessarily call Andrea a friend, but you were still surprised to learn she’d been alive this whole time.

“Andrea’s in Woodbury?” Rick asks.

“Right next to the Governor,” Merle confirms.

You turn to Michonne. “The friend you said you needed to save from Woodbury, was that Andrea?” you ask her.

“Hey, do you know Andrea?” Rick presses when she doesn’t answer.

Merle is the one to break the silence. He explains how Michonne and Andrea had survived the winter together and talks about the walkers that Michonne had kept on chains. That part of his story scares you and it makes you wonder how safe she would be to have around Carl and the baby. Merle goes on to explain how he and a group of men from Woodbury had found the pair and taken them back to safety. He made it sound like he was the hero, even though he was anything but.

“So, what you gonna do now, Sheriff, huh?” Merle presses, “Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards.”

“Shut up,” Daryl demands.

“Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic,” Merle antagonizes, “All these guns and no bullets in ‘em.”

“Merle, shut up!” Daryl persists.

“Shut up yourself!” Merle replies, “You’re my brother. You’re supposed to be on my side. Instead you’ve sided with a bunch of pussies and that little slut of yours.”

Before Merle can get another word in, Daryl has punched him right in the jaw. “Don’t you ever talk about her like that, Asshole,” Daryl shouts. He looks like he’s going to punch his brother again, so you reach out and grab his elbow, trying to stop him from doing something he’d regret later. That wasn’t to say that Merle didn’t deserve to have the shit beaten out of him.

“Daryl, let’s get back to the prison and we can keep talking about this there, where we’re safe,” you try to calm him.

“But he deserves it. He called you a -” his words trail off.

“I know what he called me,” you reply, “And I know he’s a dick, but he’s your brother and we may need him.”

“We can’t bring him back to the prison,” Rick interrupts, “There’s no way Merle’s gonna live there without putting everyone at each other’s throats.”

“We can keep him isolated,” you suggest, “It’s a prison for fuck’s sake. I’m not saying we let him back into the group right away, but I think we need him. He knows the Governor, and Woodbury. We can use that sort of intel.”

“I won’t have him there,” Rick persists.

“So you’re gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?” Daryl asks.

“She’s not coming back either,” Rick says. Maggie protests, insisting that Michonne come back to at least get stitched up. “She’s too unpredictable,” Rick retorts.

“You’re right,” Daryl agrees, “We don’t know who she is; but Merle, Merle’s blood.”

“No, Merle is your blood,” Rick says, “My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison. You’re a part of that family, Daryl; but he’s not.”

“Fine, we’ll fend for ourselves,” Daryl says.

“That’s not what I was saying,” Rick replies.

“No him, no me,” Daryl answers.

“Daryl, wait,” you insist, “Think about this.”

“Daryl, you don’t have to do that,” Rick continues.

“It was always Merle and me before this,” Daryl says. The group insist he doesn’t leave and you do your best to keep him with you, but you know how much he’s missed his brother. He’s already made up his mind.

“What do you want us to tell Carol?” Maggie asks.

“She’ll understand,” Daryl answers. You weren’t so sure about that, you could barely understand it yourself. He was so willing to walk away from a group of people who loved and needed him, so willing to walk away from you. “Say goodbye to your Pop for me,” Daryl tells Maggie.

“Daryl, wait,” you beg him, “There’s another way, there’s got to be.”

“Yeah? What is it?” Daryl asks.

“I don’t know,” you admit, “But lease don’t leave me. Not like this.”

“Don’t ask me to leave him,” Daryl says, “I already did that once. No him, no me. That’s all I can say. I love you, Y/N, but I have to go with him. Please come with us.” You swallow hard, unable to give a response, to even say that you love him too. It feels like there’s a lump in your throat and you can’t swallow it. Daryl pulls you to him and places a kiss to the top of your head before turning his attention to Rick, “Take care of lil’ ass-kicker, and Carl. He’s one tough kid.”

“Daryl, don’t,” Rick insists.

“Come on, bro,” Merle says. He puts his hand on Daryl’s shoulder and turns him away from the group, leading him off into the woods. Daryl looks back to you, waiting for you to follow, but your feet stayed glued to the ground. Tears well in your eyes as you watch him go. 

“Are you really just going to let him walk away?” you ask, turning on Rick.

“He made his choice,” Rick tells you.

“A choice you forced him into,” you accuse, “Fix this, Rick.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Rick says, “But I won’t put us in danger so that you can have your fiancé back.”

“My fiancé?” you scoff, “He’s more than just that. He’s your friend, or he was until you pushed him away.”

“Y/N, I can’t let Merle into the prison,” Rick says, “And if Daryl feels that he needs to leave the group in order to cope with that, then that’s his decision.”

“Then it’s mine too,” you tell him.

“Y/N, don’t,” Maggie begs.

“I have to,” you say, “None of you trust Merle and neither do I, so I can’t just let Daryl go off alone to God knows where with him. I have to be there.”

“I know you love him, but -” Rick begins.

“There’s no ‘but,’” you interrupt, “I love him and that’s all there is to it. No matter what decisions he makes, even if their shitty ones, I’m going to be by his side.” You turn your back on the group, despite their protests, and head off in the same direction that Daryl and Merle had gone in.


End file.
